Final Fantasy VII: The Anbu Sennin
by Arch-Daishou
Summary: Four years after the war and Kaguya Ootsutsuki. A dying Naruto had finally put an end to his former friend Sasuke Uchiha. By a certain madwoman's intervention, the young Sennin gets a second chance at life. An can one lone Uzumaki alter the wheels of fate? And can Naruto truly find what he lost in his former world?
1. Broken Kitsune

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Final Fantasy VII

Beta: Etheral-23

Action Scenes: Godospartan the kitsune

Normal talk

' _Thoughts'_

 **Demonic talk**

 _ **Deity Talk**_

Fanon: = Strong/Smart Naruto

Fanon: = Rank: Jounin – Formerly Anbu Black Opts

{This starts four years after the fourth shinobi war & three years before the game story of FF7}

Prequel: Broken Kitsune

It was finally over…

Cerulean eyes gaze blankly upwards at the cloudy moonlit sky above. Their once normally brilliant shine flickering from between light to dull as blood drips from the edges of his mouth, and pool from countless wounds from his body.

Lying on the ground, he can feel his broken form growing colder as the twenty-one year old Naruto Uzumaki is serene as he felt the end coming. Even if he had failed the old sage, and the cycle of the brothers starts anew…

He can finally see her again. And truth to be told, it's all he actually cared about.

A serene smiles crosses his lips; ' _I'm coming home…_ '

" **Kit…"**

"Ku… Kurama," Naruto voice dry, cracking, strained even to speak. "I... I'm sorry…"

In the blond Uzumaki soul, the ancient fox sighs; **"You have nothing to apologize for. But do you seriously want to die beside the wretched Uchiha corpse?"**

His cerulean shift left, not far away is the body of the man he once considered brother in all but blood. Together with Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura they were able to take down the mad goddess known as Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, and ending the fourth shinobi war.

Or so Naruto and Sakura thought…

It has been four long years since he's last seen her jade eyes, her rosette hair, and the beautiful smile that warmed his soul. Her light erased from the world by a man consumed by hate, vengeance, and madness.

But now, it no longer mattered. Even with his body broken, and Kurama himself too low on chakra to do anything, the final dark chapter of the Uchiha clan had now been laid to rest. In a way it was fitting it came to a close where it started for them, in the Valley of End.

Naruto's eyes drift back to the sky, barely registering the sound of thunder rolling and lightning flashing wildly in the heavens above. "Can I… just rest… partner..? I'm so tired…."

" _ **Well you could…**_ " A husky feminine voice make the blond Uzumaki weakly turn right. " _ **But dying can be so damn boring~. I got my head cut off once, took my body five minutes to find it. FIVE MINUTES!**_ "

A strikingly beautiful woman with long raven black hair, tan mocha skin, wearing a bi-colored dress with a very open low-cut on the front and back walked barefoot over to fallen Uzumaki. Her red lips smiled in a subtle yet demented way, her eyes were strange, one silver and the other golden.

" _ **I actually got Haskill's eyebrow to twitch,**_ " the strange woman giggled in almost a maniacal manner. Naruto only blinked as the woman pounded her right hand in her left palm looking back to him. " _ **Oh right, you're bleeding to death and I have a choice for you to make.**_ " She sat on her knees down beside the dying blond.

The young Uzumaki lifts a brow; "Ch… Choice…"

" _ **I can heal and save you. But I have a price for this 'unique' intervention.**_ " It was now the blond Uzumaki took notice of the environment around them was frozen in place. He saw droplets of rain literally stood still in mid-air, the waterfall now frozen. As if time itself had stopped, as this very strange woman tilted her head.

"What price?" the blond asked weakly.

" _ **It is very simple…**_ _**The price is leaving Godaiyo, otherwise known as your world.**_ "

His tired cerulean widen as Kurama quickly spoke up; **"A fresh start kit. Let's be honest, nothing is tying you down to this world anymore…"**

The blond Sennin was quiet for a moment before turning his gaze to the paused skies. What was there really left for him here, despite an early grave, and her waiting on the other side? But, if Naruto truly knew one damn thing about his late wife…

' _You'd kick my ass for giving up so damn easy._ ' He looked to the strange woman; "I accept…"

A smile crossed her lips as the woman placed her hand on Naruto's chest; " _ **Call me Raven… You'll be seeing me again whiskers**_ " The world goes black in the blond's eyes as he vanished in a white light. Heaving a sigh, the mad goddess dryly glared over to the lifeless body of Sasuke Uchiha. Snapping her fingers a black gem appeared in her hand. " _ **No more cycle for you~… OH you will just love the Soul Carin sweetie!**_ " Raven giggled before breaking out into crazed laughter that echoed throughout the valley as time resumes.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

As his consciousness stirred, Naruto's senses were quick in feeling the soft fabric of the mattress he was laying on, and a pillow under his head. He also felt the intense and overwhelming soreness rolling through his body like a train from Yuki no Kuni had hit him. The strong scent of flowers invaded his nose as the blond Uzumaki opened his eyes. His cerulean eyes are greeted by a light tan ceiling over his head.

' _I thought… being healed meant not feeling like Madara had come back and kicked my ass all over again._ ' Naruto mentally grumbled.

A familiar deep chuckle echoed in his mind; **"Ah you're still breathing you pansy. Just walk it off."**

' _You are_ _just a ray of sunshine as ever eh furball._ ' Kurama only scoffed as Naruto's eyes gazed about the room. Unlike the blond Uzumaki's square bedroom of his apartment, this was parallelogram in design, and a bit larger, now that he thought about it.

To the far left corner from the bed he saw a couch near a window. On the couch's right was a desk with a chair, and a dresser close beside that. A vase sat on top of the dresser with several yellow roses. The scent of flowers was quite overwhelming in this place.

Still, as he slowly sat up on the bed a relieved sigh escaped his lips seeing his katana, his collapsible costumed made shuriken, and his eight sealing scrolls on the couch. On the desk was his sage coat, cleaned and neatly folded, and finally hitai-ate beside it.

Gazing downward, Naruto saw his torso and left arm fully bandaged. Whoever found him took the time to care for him, but did he get hurt even more by just coming here? **"Before you even ask me kit, I was too exhausted and fell asleep as we vanished from Godaiyo. I woke up just an hour ago."**

' _That's really the name of our world?'_

He heard the old fox snort; **"Well if you had actually paid attention to your geography in class brat you'd be amazed."**

' _Oh bite me!'_ Naruto mentally growled earning a few good natured chuckles from the Bijuu King. Shaking his head, the blond moved the blanket off him, seeing he was only dressed in his boxers. Getting up and out of bed was a chore as his body made certain every sore muscle protested in the attempt.

The young Sennin caught himself as a wave of light headedness and nausea flushed over, he took small steps over to the desk. ' _Well I'm in no fighting shape for a few days._ ' Placing his hands on the desktop he heaved a sigh, ' _But least it's over…_ '

His cerulean shifted to the closed door upon hearing footsteps coming up some wooden stairs.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Normally, her day usually consisted of tending to her beautiful flowers at the church and picking them to sell in the on the upper plate of Midgar, helping her mother with shopping, cooking, or avoiding _them_. Never in her wildest dreams did she ever even suspect another person would be falling from the sky and into her church, scaring the living daylights out of her… again. The life of twenty year old Aerith Gainsborough was never dull, though at times she wished it was; the heart could only take so many surprises.

She sighed slightly as she walked up the stairs inside her house, her dainty fingers lightly sliding on the wall. In her other hand there were some clean clothes she was able to get that could fit the blond, since his former attire were badly torn up and covered in blood. By Gaia she never saw anyone look that badly beaten in her life.

' _The planet called him an 'outsider'. But what does that mean? Even still, I could feel nature itself at one with him._ ' This being one of the many thoughts that ran inside her head.

Reaching the top, she rounded the stairs and passed her own room. Stopping at the second room's closed door she went for the nob quietly not to wake their guest/patient. Inside the room, Naruto remained where he was as he felt zero malicious intent. Especially since whoever found him took the time to patch him up.

The door opened and he saw a young woman around his age stopping upon seeing him up. She was wearing a very elegant blue and white dress with a red camisole underneath and white wedge sandals with pink straps, the outfit fitting her hourglass figure just right. Her brunette hair having segmented bangs which framed her heart-shaped face and the sides, and was also pulled back in a thick plait with a pink ribbon tied around it.

Naruto also noticed a white orb within the ribbon which held a faint glow, he and even Kurama inside of him could feel a faint power coming from it. She had a beautiful fair skin tone and vibrant emerald eyes.

She blinked before looking wide eyed, seeing the young man she thought was close to death a mere day ago now standing. "You should be resting, how are you feeling?" the young woman's voice was soft and melodic to Naruto's ears.

"Well, now that you ask," the young man's voice deep and graveled, it was the first time Aerith heard it. The blond Uzumaki still feeling a touch of vertigo and nausea as shook his head; "Think I need to sit down."

Quickly walking over, putting the clothes on the desk. Aerith puts one of Naruto's arms over her shoulder, slowly helping him back to bed. He let out a sigh upon sitting back down, rubbing his eyes with a small groan. Though he could feel the beautiful brunette staring at him; "How long was I out?"

"A day. With your injuries I thought it be longer," Opening his eyes he saw her emerald orbs gazing to his unbandaged right.

Unlike the visible parts of his tan skin Aerith saw, from the elbow joint down of his right forearm and hand being pure white. She found it weird seeing where the young man's tan skin ended on his arm, and the pure marble white hairless skin began, even with the fingernails.

"I… lost my real arm four years ago. They called this thing a bio-prosthetic. Did not understand the science behind it, but gave me a new working arm," It wasn't really a lie per say. But he really did not want to go in detail to a stranger about how Baachan and the medics used old man Hashirama's cells in making his new appendage.

It still freaked him out anyway just thinking about it.

" **Least you got your arm back kit. Even if it looks like that wretch Zetsu's arm,"** the old kitsune was right, even the creepy part.

The brunette shook her head; "I'm sorry, my name is Aerith. I… I did not mean to stare."

"Naruto," the blond waved it off chuckling; "You're fine, got used to the weirdness a long time ago."

Turning around, Naruto saw the brunette go back for the men's clothes on the desk that looked about his size. Picking them up in her arms, she walked back to the bed. The blond nods taking them. "This is what I and mom could find around your size. Will you be alright in coming down for breakfast?"

Giving her the thumbs up, Aerith smiled as she left the room and closed the door. Looking down, the blond let out a sigh at the dark blue muscle shirt and black sweats; "Couldn't it have some orange?"

Kurama face palmed shaking his head. **"Idiot…"**

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Walking down the stairs, Aerith saw her mother setting plates on the dining table. "So how is the young man?"

The woman noticed her daughter wide eyed looking her way; "He's actually awake." Those also made the woman look in shock as well.

Before she could continue, both mother and daughter saw the person in question coming down the stairs in the clothes Aerith gave him. It was now the young brunette took notice of Naruto's physique. She could see the definition in his biceps and triceps of his arms. Even with through the shirt she saw the solid muscle that outlined the blond's upper torso. And his bio-prosthetic now covered by bandage.

While definitely not the bulky build of the few body builders she has seen on occasions. Naruto has strong lean muscular frame matched by a towering height of at least 6'2 or 6'3 by her guess. He was quite pleasing to eyes, if the small blush on her cheeks were any sign. Aerith also took notice of the three horizontal lines on both of his cheeks on his angular face. In an odd way he kinda reminded her of a fox. Next to the natural spiky sun kissed blond hair, but his eyes drew her attention. Cerulean in color and enhanced by a unique if not a quite familiar glow to her she saw once before.

' _Just like a member of SOLDIER… Could he…_ '

Her thoughts were interrupted as the blond spoke up; "Thanks for the clothes. And for saving my life. Naruto Uzumaki ma'am" The young sennin spoke to the middle aged woman in a green dress with an apron over it who waved it off with a smile. Her brown greying hair was in a short ponytail with a small bang on her right.

"My name is Elmyra Gainsborough. And thank my daughter, she found you and been at your bedside the entire time." The elderly woman giggled getting an embarrassed ' _mother_ ' from her daughter.

The blond's gaze turned to a blushing Aerith who shook it off looking to him. "You fell out of the sky, crashing through the roof of my church. You were lucky to least landing on the flowers."

If his eyes went any wider, both daughter and mother thought they would have popped out as Naruto jaw went slacked; ' _Are you fucking kidding me!? Yes save my sorry ass via free falling, is that woman out of her goddamn mind!?_ '

' _ **Trust me kit you have no idea,'**_ the Bijuu king mentally mused.

' _And how the hell did some flowers smother my fall?!_ '

Taking a few deep breaths after mentally freaking out, the blond rubbed the back of his neck; "Sorry about that."

Shaking her head, Aerith waved it off; "I'm just glad you're alright. I just… have to ask, where on the upper plate of Sector 5 did you slip from?"

Mother and daughter saw a blond brow slowly rise; "Upper plate? Sector 5..?"

"…Sector 5… Of Midgar young man," Elmyra said delicately.

Again they only saw utter confusion of the blond's face. Why did they feel like this was going to be a long day?

XxX ~ Gaia: εγλ 0005 ~ XxX

Midgar…

The central capital of Gaia, which was the name of this planet he found himself now a resident of. In regard to his old world, not even Amegakure or Yuki no Kuni come close to be as technologically advanced to this place. The Shinra Electric Power Company, who being the grand architects of this massive metropolis, this city actually was the central headquarters of their entire company with the largest building at the city's center. With eight massive Mako reactors that supply the power for the entire place.

Gigantic plates that were suspended hundreds of feet in the air by massive pillars, the 'glorious' city of Shinra is a sharp contrast to the slums beneath it. While those above get to enjoy all the comforts; with pristine buildings, clean streets, the finest attire, and food, anything one could desire. Those below paradise of the 'pizza plate' above held life with anything but.

Homes made from pieces of metal that lay about the slums like an enormous scrapyard. While other houses and buildings came from broken down mobile-homes, buses, anything people could get creative with. Even though Naruto had zero idea what the hell a 'Mobile-home' or 'buses' even were to being with.

Still, as Aerith and Elmyra commented despite the bleakness and poverty of the slums, were they lived as well, this place held a unique blending of cultural diversities that one would never see anywhere else.

But how the rich loomed over the poor still made Naruto sick to his stomach. He wanted to do something about. However he also knew he was just one man, and if he tried anything it would bring an entire army coming for him. His younger self would not have cared about the odds, and charged in by the seat of his pants.

The blond was so damn glad he was not as stupid as he once was. Nor was he willing in gambling people's lives that would get caught in the crossfire. And he damn sure was not about to let his new friends here get hurt or worse by trying to be a hero.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Eyes closed, his breathing was steady as Naruto sat in a meditative position at the center of a ring of yellow flowers behind the house. The serene atmosphere only amplified by the waterfall on the opposite side of the house. While not as soothing as Mt. Myōboku or the crystal realm of the dragons, this place held an air of peace unlike most places he knew however.

After breakfast and the long explanation of Gaia, the blond felt it was time for some much need air to clear his head with everything that had happened since leaving Godaiyo. In a way, it felt like a heavy weight he carried for four years was finally taken off of his shoulders, but he could say with pride he did not kill Sasuke out of revenge. He would not fall into that darkness thanks to his will and to those who love him back home.

He heard Kurama make a loud throaty noise; **"Your loved ones will be fine on Godaiyo brat. The Uzumaki clan restored, no Akatsuki, the Uchiha filth is erased from existence, two dead snakes, and the Ōtsutsuki can never again set foot on that planet. Other than typical human stupidity, everything should be fine."**

Still keeping his eyelids closed, it did not stop Naruto's brow twitching at the 'typical human stupidity' barb. Then again, the only human the old fox even gives a damn about was him. And even though he can be a cynical jackass he was right.

A small grin tugged his lips; "Can I help you Aerith?"

He heard an 'eek' as he opened his eyes. Shifting his head to the planks that connect this patch of ground to the back of house, a pouting brunette walked over; "How did you know?" Aerith sat down on her knees beside him, not caring if it dirtied her dress.

"Well I am ninja I recall telling you and your mother," the blond sennin still grinned.

"Who comes from a place that has never existed on Gaia," the brunette rolls her eyes at his expanding grin. She paused; "… You really certain you didn't hit your head when you fell?"

It's not that she felt Naruto was trying to deceive her or her mother; she got the feeling the blond was not the lying type. But just the sheer concept of someone actually coming from a different dimension of space and time sounded like something from a book, or one of those manga things from Wutai.

A chuckle came from the blond; "I think I would have recalled falling from there." Lifting his arm and pointed his finger upwards to the plate above.

Amusement shined in his cerulean orbs as he watched Aerith trying hard to think of some logical reason for his 'drop in' into her church. Defeat won out as her shoulders slumped forward; "…So you really did come from another world?"

"I'm not sure if you sound disappointed or shocked," the blond remarked incredulously.

This earned Naruto a very dry look from the brunette; "You have someone nearly fall on you. And then have him explaining they come from an alternate reality within space and time. That would be quite a lot to take in don't you think?"

A shrug came from the blond; "I got used to weird things when I was twelve." That being the first time seeing a mountain size nine-tailed fox inside of you, which followed by all the nightmares before and after the fourth shinobi war.

"…Any friends or family back home?" the brunette asked.

"My friends in Konoha will be fine. My clan or family as you call them is doing better than they have been in years now back together," it still felt good and proud in the revival of the Uzu with Saito-Otooji as the new head. And with Kakashi-sensei as Hokage now, he knew everything was in good hands.

Aerith was quiet for minute before speaking; "So what will you do now?"

"Not a clue," the blond rubbed his chin. "It has been while since I had a chance to actually rest for a while and think on things."

She wasn't sure if it was his tone, or how he said it, but Aerith heard the hollowness in Naruto's voice. And she did not like it one bit; "Well, you can stay with me and mom."

To those words a blond brow elevate; "You are letting a stranger, who may be potentially insane given his story on how he got here, to stay in your home?"

Getting to her feet, Aerith only smiled as she extended her hand to him. "Then we learn to trust each other. One day at a time."

That smile, he couldn't describe it in words. But he could feel the warmth and kindness from her simple gesture. A gesture he mimics taking her hand. "One day at a time."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

A throated noise came from the blond as he opened his eyes. It had been a while since he actually had a good night's sleep. Glowing cerulean turned to the desk seeing the clock at 3AM. Getting out of bed, Naruto smirked after taking off the bandages from his chest and left arm his body was fully healed.

" **Only beside those two green spandex clowns would you think of training after healing yourself,"** Hearing Kurama's voice the blond stops his thoughts.

' _Come on, I am not as bad as bushy brow or Guy-Sensei. I just agree with Neko-taichou that a person should always be ready,_ ' Naruto said recalling the words of his former Anbu captain. Who he later learned was his mother's sole apprentice.

' _Can I ask you something?_ ' the blond appeared in his mindscape looking to the old fox that rested his head on his human-like claw hands.

" **Am I familiar or have I ever heard of a realm called Gaia? Sorry brat, while I have known a few beings who hop dimensions from time to time. I myself have never done it… Had to keep a promise to the old man after all."**

The blond conceded with nod at that; ' _Then you least know why my eyes are glowing?'_

" **You have an active chakra network plus me in here. It's just a byproduct of being in a world with a high abundance of the planet wide chakra flowing through, this 'lifestream' as they call it. Want to know more, go figure it out."**

' _Stingy old furball...,_ ' Naruto's eye twitched as he heard his friend snort in return. With that conversation tucked away, the blond went to the couch for one of the scrolls.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Her long brunette hair laid over her bed sheet like curtain as Aerith slept quietly on her bed. Her breathing even and steady as her nose crinkled as a warm smell invaded. The brunette's closed eyes twitched as she opened them with several blinks.

A cute yawn escaped her lips as she sat up on her bed. The smell of cooking food again invades her senses as she gets out of bed. Wearing a simple sleeveless nightgown, she stretched as she opened the door of her room. Assuming her mother was making breakfast Aerith walked over to Naruto's room.

"Naruto," the brunette says softly knocking on the door. "Time… To…" Opening the door she pause mid-sentence upon seeing the bed empty and made. Lightly frowning, her ear twitched hearing humming downstairs.

Going down as the door of the main bedroom under the stair opens, Aerith stopped seeing her mother looking her way; "You're not cooking?"

"I thought you were."

"Nope," they both turn their heads; "That would be me dattebayo," they heard Naruto's voice in the kitchen.

' _Dattebayo…_ ' Mother and daughter lift a brow as they notice plates and silverware already on the dinner table. Both soon shrug as they took a seat, Aerith's eyes lean to the kitchen seeing their new roommate wearing a black long uniform jacket with that bandana on his head, with dark burnt orange pants with sandals. She blinked when she swore she saw one of the metal pans moving on its own.

Within a few minutes Naruto brought over blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs, and sausage. He gave everyone equal portions; "Thank you. I did not know you could cook" Aerith smiled as Naruto took his own seat.

"Thank my cousin Karin and my friend Ino, those two literally forced me to learn the culinary arts," the blond sennin snorted as he started eating.

Cutting a small portion of the pancakes with her fork, Aerith took a bite. Her emerald eyes widen as a satisfied moan came from her throat as she chewed. Swallowing, the young brunette sighed; "Thank you Cousin Karin and Ms. Ino."

That got a chortled sound from the blond as he ate.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

After waiting for his new friend to take a shower and put on new clothes much like from the day before, Aerith decided in showing Naruto around the Sector 5 slums. Makeshift homes crafted from scraps of steel that lays all over the area as explained to him. A few of the 'mobile homes' were also around made into places for people to live. Several stands selling goods liter the area as well, with lastly a massive television screen high on a pile of metal.

From their patched up clothing to their dirty faces, he did not need Kurama's chakra cloak to feel the despair around him. In a way it reminded him of his year alone on the streets trying to survive. But that did not even compare to these people living their entire lives impoverished.

It was like Nami no Kuni, just on a bigger scale. And the thought made him sick to his stomach as it did then.

Still, humanity was a stubborn race. As he saw people finding what little happiness they could here. Several children playing happily beside their parents. Naruto also took notice how people were receptive to Aerith with warm smiles and happy waves with light small talk.

Though the looks in his direction were just the opposite. "Not too fond of outsiders are they?" While it wasn't outright hostility or hate he saw, it was nothing he was not use to back when he was brat.

An apologetic smile came from the brunette; "They don't know you yet. Give it time."

"Time's all it takes," the blond shrugs as Aerith restarts giving him the tour of Sector 5. Passing through a massive open gate she shows him the broken wall leading to Sector 6. Naruto tilted his head as he followed his new friend down on a dirt path. "So where we going?"

The brunette spun around with her hands behind her back; "We're going to the place we first met. And it's a place very sacred to me." She spun back around humming lightly as she walked on.

' _Strange girl…_ '

" **All the women in your life are fucking strange if you haven't noticed brat."** That comment earned an eye roll and a mental snort.

With several strides, Naruto caught up with Aerith as they traveled the dirt path. Squinting his eyes, the blond saw a large cement building that the blond saw in his Aunt Lyn Uzumaki's photos during her and Kya's travels in the western continent close to the Elemental nations.

"That's the church huh?" Naruto spoke up his thoughts.

Aerith nods, "Yep, my favorite place in sector 5."

The structure was impressive in size, made of stone with stain glass windows. Two bell towers on each side of the double wooden doors with the right tower top broken. He saw the roof was slanted with tiles. A massive hole at the far end of the roof, with smaller ones close to it.

The right wooden door creak loudly opened with Aerith's dainty hands. Both walk in as Naruto takes the view of the interior. Six unique pillars, three on the right, three on the left go up the church rafters as old wooden pews are lined up in rows on either side. Behind the altar he also saw the church's religious symbol.

Aerith's sandal covered feet creak on the floorboard while Naruto's remains silent as ever thanks to his Shinobi training. Nearing the alter he spots another hole in the roof that lets in sunlight onto a large area of dirt with yellow and white flowers growing out of it.

An amazing sight in all honesty. This one area defiant compared to the hard dry ground just outside. Aerith only smiled as walked over to the flowers; "Welcome to my flower garden." Spoke as she slowly spun around with her hands behind her back to look at the tall blond. "I sell these around the slums and up top."

"And… these things stopped my fall?"

"Yep"

"…Okay" _You know what? I won't even bother trying to make sense of anything anymore…_ The blond shook away his thought; "Honest pay for honest work" It was more than what he could say from some of the things ninja did.

At his words the brunette just shook her head. "My dream is to one day see Midgar full of flowers."

Maybe it was the infectious smile, or just positive aura about her, but a small grin crept on Naruto's lips; ' _Never hurts to dream._ ' He heard Kurama make a grunting sound but went silent. Gazing around, his glowing cerulean stop over a particular object beside one of the pillars, his new friend tilted her head at him.

She watched him as melancholy shined in her emerald orbs at the item her new friend found.

"Your flower cart," Naruto crossed his arms looking at the push cart that looked like something a patellar would use back home. He did not miss the dust coating over the cart with the wheels broken. "Needs some fixing. You made it?" The blond Uzumaki turned to his friend.

Aerith shook her head; "Someone… made that for me…"

Neither Naruto nor Kurama missed the distant tone in her voice; "Boyfriend?"

"He was… But I haven't seen him in years." The brunette looked to her flowers for a moment before looking back. "Do you have… someone special?"

An unreadable chuckle came from the young Sennin as his eyes gaze up to the hole where the patch of sunlight came through. "I had a wife… She died four years ago…"

"Oh Gaia I'm so sorry!" Aerith stammered waving her arms a bit. "I shouldn't have asked."

"It's alright. How the hell could you have known?" the blond waved it off. "So, how bout I fix this for ya?" He stuck his thumb over to the broken cart. "Be a lot easier to handle those flowers."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

After a few hours tending to the flowers, which to Aerith's surprised in learning of her new friend actually having a real green thumb in gardening. They closed the church doors to make their way home. "So you're a ninja, carpenter, and gardener. Like a jack of all trades."

With a smile from the blonde, she got a shrug in return. "Just capable when needed is all. Ino was a gardener, and I knew a bridge builder so carpentry wasn't too hard to learn when I put my mind to it."

He half wondered what that old bastard Tazuna was doing besides getting drunk as hell. No doubt probably pestering Inari for great grand kids. Both he and Kurama mentally snort at that as the blond and brunette walk the dirt path.

However the former Anbu's danger senses flared as he slowed to a stop, which made a confused Aerith stop beside him; "What's wrong?"

"Well boys look what we have here," a gruffer male voice than Naruto's spoke up. Shifting her eyes, Aerith saw at least eight men in hard leather clothing and bandannas over their mouths. All brandishing some blunt weapon in hand.

His glowing cerulean never leaving the men, Naruto stealthily put his hands in his pockets quickly, grabbing a few Kunai he stuffed in various places for quick access. "Can we help you? We're kind of late as it is, and we'd like to not cause a scene."

The man holding a baseball bat with barbwire wrapped around it waves it off; "We won't take much of your time pal. We just want all the Gil between the two of you... And your woman... You see we've had an eye on her for a while, and we want her."

Narrowing his eyes, the blue eyed ninja analyzed the situation. Buying just a few seconds more time, he warned the bandits. "Well, keep looking, because if you try and lay a single finger on her, you'll find out just how painful it is to lose a finger. It won't be quick..." Gripping as many knives as he could from his pockets, he prepared for their strike, if they did after his warning, and he suspected they would still attempt it regardless.

Aerith looked between the men and her new friend; "Naruto" she barely whispered.

"Just stay right here," he whispered back.

The man with the bat shook his head; "Sorry friend... Guess you get to watch what we do to her. Before we slit your throat." Snapping his fingers with his free hand two men charged.

Before they could get halfway to the duo, they were impaled with three Kunai each, one to the head, another to the neck, and a third to the heart with precision and speed that nailed them to the ground shortly after. Glaring at the leader, Naruto's eyes flashed crimson for moment. "Sorry, 'friend'. Guess you'll have to enjoy that torture you oh so wanted it seems."

The head thug looked wide eyed; _'When the hell did he move?!_ ' He looks to rest of his boys who were obviously now wary of the cold glare given by the tall blond. "Kill him or I kill you all myself!"

Though hesitant to move on command, the group managed to do as they were told and with battle cries stormed the duo. Naruto was upon the front in the blink of an eye and with a single hand snapped the neck of the nearest bandit with a single palm blow, twisting his head back with a snap. Not even with an effort, he shifted to the side of a sword attack coming down on him and tricked the attacker to the ground, his heel raising up to knock the sword up and into the attackers head, impaling him.

With four down and four to go, Naruto didn't let them get near Aerith, grabbing one Bandit coming past him and throwing him into his buddies attack, which cut his chest wide open, and with the dead man's sword hammer, slammed it down on the head of the woman who cut her ally, and smashed the head clean open on the ground. The last two surrounded him, but held steady and shook with fear. Naruto gave them one last warning. "Leave now and never come back, and you may keep your lives... Stay and die... You choose."

The man with the barbwire bat yelled as he tried hitting the blond. But only blinked seeing his weapon gone from his hands, that was his last thought as Naruto used the man's own weapon and stuck the man square on the side of the head.

Though not dead, the man was sent hard to the ground, knocked out for the time being. The last bandit still awake and alive ran for his life. Naruto grabbed a Kunai and kicked the bat wielding man until he awoke. Grabbing his jaw to quiet him, Naruto stepped on the bandit leader's hand and put his Kunai to the finger. "This is what you get for attempting such things on those you believe are your playthings."

Aerith only grimaced as she turned her head and closed her eyes as Naruto's kunai went through the man's skull. Slowly eyelids open with her emerald orbs looking over to the tall blond. "…You really are a ninja," her voice somber.

Gazing over as he pulled his kunai from the man's head, the blond sighed. "Sorry about that."

"When you live down here in the slums, you get used to nasty things like this. I just had been lucky to avoid the thugs who roam around down here." She walks over to her friend gently rubbed his arm; "You okay?"

At that Naruto snorted; "These guys weren't even amateurs, I've faced bears worse than these idiots." He slowly walks about getting his kunai and cleaning them off. Tucking those back in his pockets as he soon drags the corpses together. Aerith only watched as now lifting a brow seeing her friend going through odd hand movements.

Taking in a deep breath; _**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu**_ _ **!**_ Aerith gasped as Naruto let out a steady stream of fire from his mouth that engulfs the pile of bodies. They turn to ashes in under a minute as the blond finished his jutsu.

"Magic!"

Naruto only chuckled as he shook his head; "Nope, that is a jutsu. Will explain later, I'd say we had enough fun for today don't you think?"

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

For my FF7 series it has been a while yes. But after some long thought and some good friends advice I have decided to redo the entire thing. This time will keep the old one up for those who liked it. But Not completing that one. Now with the right help and things as Chronological as I can get it, this feels better to me. Expect some Crisis Core scenes in this. Till then, See ya on the flip side.

 **Sheogorath belongs to the Elder Scrolls Series.**


	2. Sage and Assassins

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Final Fantasy VII

Beta: Etheral-23

Action scenes: Godospartan the kitsune

Prequel: Sage and Assassins

XxX ~ last time ~ XxX

 _The man with the barbwire bat yelled as he tried hitting the blond. But only blinked seeing his weapon gone from his hands, that was his last thought as Naruto used the man's own weapon and stuck the man square on the side of the head._

 _Though not dead, the man was sent hard to the ground, knocked out for the time being. The last bandit still awake and alive ran for his life. Naruto grabbed a Kunai and kicked the bat wielding man until he awoke. Grabbing his jaw to quiet him, Naruto stepped on the bandit leader's hand and put his Kunai to the finger. "This is what you get for attempting such things on those you believe are your playthings."_

 _Aerith only grimaced as she turned her head and closed her eyes as Naruto's kunai went through the man's skull. Slowly eyelids open with her emerald orbs looking over to the tall blond. "…You really are a ninja," her voice somber._

 _Gazing over as he pulled his kunai from the man's head, the blond sighed. "Sorry about that."_

 _"When you live down here in the slums, you get used to nasty things like this. I just had been lucky to avoid the thugs who roam around down here." She walks over to her friend gently rubbed his arm; "You okay?"_

 _At that Naruto snorted; "These guys weren't even amateurs, I've faced bears worse than these idiots." He slowly walks about getting his kunai and cleaning them off. Tucking those back in his pockets as he soon drags the corpses together. Aerith only watched as now lifting a brow seeing her friend going through odd hand movements._

 _Taking in a deep breath;_ _ **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu**_ _! Aerith gasped as Naruto let out a steady stream of fire from his mouth that engulfs the pile of bodies. They turn to ashes in under a minute as the blond finished his jutsu._

 _"Magic!"_

 _Naruto only chuckled as he shook his head; "Nope, that is a jutsu. Will explain later, I'd say we had enough fun for today don't you think?"_

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Four weeks…

It strangely did not feel like four weeks had passed to Naruto. It still felt a bit surreal settling into his new life in Gaia. Granted, his situation could have been worse all things considering. The blond Uzumaki could have arrived in this world all alone with a possible freaking language barrier between him and everyone else, as Kurama had sarcastically brought up to his attention.

Gods only know how long that would have been a pain in the ass to work on…

Count him even luckier to have fallen into Aerith's lap… literally...

The young brunette and her mother Elmyra have been an absolute blessing to him. Helping Naruto in understanding Gaia, the people, and the unique cultures on this planet. The ladies soon learned the blond had one hell of a work ethic.

Naruto was practically a crazed whirlwind throughout sector 5. Fixing up people's homes, aiding the supply runs, and clearing out any monsters or bandits that threaten the sector. Though Aerith still got a laugh in remembering the blond's overreaction to that weird robot monster Hell House. Gaia, she wished she had had a camera on that day.

Another surprised she also learned about her new friend, he was well versed in medicine, first aid, though he was far from a doctor. He said his late wife Sakura, his cousin Karin, and adopted mother Tsunade were the real doctors. He explained in great detail how all three literally pounded necessary medical knowledge into his thick skull where he ever needed it.

Still, in the four weeks of being here the people of Sector 5 have slowly grown to call Naruto as one of their own.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

At the present moment, said Uzumaki, dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans, was sitting on the ground in the kitchen of their home, working on plumbing of the sink. He was lucky enough Elmyra's late husband had left tool box with possibly every item the blond could have needed to be the unofficial handyman of Sector 5. Over at the dining room table, the matriarch of the household and her daughter sat and watched Naruto at work.

"I know for a fact now, my late husband would have liked you," Elmyra smiled wearing her usual attire. "Emmett always respected hard working people." Her eyes wandered over to a small picture on the bookshelf.

Naruto grunts as he took off the old pipes replacing them with somewhat newer ones he had found in the scrap around the slums. "By how you talk about him he sounds like a cool guy."

Beside her mother, wearing a shin-length pink dress that buttons up the front and a red bolero jacket. She wears brown boots and metal bracers on her wrists and around the edges of her jacket sleeves, these up in their usual fashion, Aerith just watched quietly as her mother and Naruto talked.

' _I know several weeks are hardly enough time to get to know anyone. But something just feels off…_ ' The young brunette could not describe it, but it was just something in his eyes showed something. What it was she had no idea; Naruto was quite hard to read for her.

He talked all the time, but it was also like he truly never 'said' anything. If Aerith was honest it drove her absolutely crazy, but at the same time she understood trust takes time. She truly hoped that was all it was and they both could be good friends down the road.

However, trust was a two-way street. She knew full well she would have to tell him _that_. But how would he see her if she told him she wasn't completely human? It amazed her that she never once even told her very first boyfriend either, thinking on it now.

It just terrified her, if she had told _him_ or eventually tell Naruto, would they think of her being some kind of monster? That's what scared her most, which was why she never told Zack.

"Gaia to Aerith hello…" The brunette blinked now seeing a half dirty Naruto looking at her coyly waving a hand in front of her face.

Least she had the decency to blush as she looked at the blond. "Yes… I'm sorry, was thinking about something."

"I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to for some extra pipe. I need a small piece and I'm done with the kitchen sink."

Aerith deadpanned at him; "You ask a lady to crawl around in a dirty scrapyard?"

"Says the lady who gets dirty every time she does gardening at the church," Naruto spoke dryly.

"That is completely different," the young brunette said in a very matter-of-fact tone.

With a roll of his eyes, the blond walked to the door "Whatever. Will be back home in a bit, and finish up on the sink."

"Please be careful." Elmyra spoke up. Naruto simply grunted as he waved closing the door behind him. "He certainly is never boring." She noticed her daughter deep in thought again. "Aerith?"

Emerald eyes shifted to her mother; "I'm sorry… I'm just wondering if I should… Tell Naruto that…"

A sigh came from the older brunette, she knew this would come up eventually. "You should tell him when you're ready. I get the feeling it won't even matter to Naruto."

"…You might be right. But what if…" Aerith stopped as her mother's hand held hers. Elmyra did not say word, but gave a gentle smile. That put the young brunette's nerves at ease as she nodded.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Standing in one of the larger metal piles, Naruto and a dozen or so Kage Bunshin root around looking for the piping his needed.

" **I don't need to really read your thoughts to know something is bugging you brat,"** The fox suddenly spoke in his head.

The blond looked at piece of pipe in his hand, but discarded it since it was too wide; "What the hell should I be doing with myself now? I'll be forever grateful for that Raven lady in saving us, and bringing us to Gaia. But, now what do I do?"

" **You mean besides killing off those weird monsters and pathetic excuse for bandits to keep Sector 5 safe? Or becoming the self-nominated Mr. Handyman and medic for the humans?"** The nine-tailed bijuu snorted; **"Or are you just bored?"**

"I am far from bored furball," Naruto dryly stated, trying to 'glare' at him with his mind. "It's… just what the hell should I be really doing Kurama?"

Rubbing his eyes, Kurama shook his head; **"Live kit… That's it. Choumei's host didn't spend all that time with you for you to return to wallowing in self-pity. You and that pervert Jiraiya saved her from those two Akatsuki rats; she paid you back by being the anchor you needed after losing Sakura. Both emotionally and** _ **physically**_ **,"** Kurama smirked at his last words.

And that was as close to a pep talk you get from the surly ancient Bijuu king. No love like tough love eh? Yet he was right, even though Fu did not have to go out her way to help him like she did. Though the fox was mostly teasing him about a certain part of that relationship of theirs; "Yes the sex with her was awesome, happy now smart ass?"

For Sakura, Fu, his family and friends, he'd figured out something for new life on Gaia. Naruto just hoped her's was a happy as he was back home.

' _Well… Back to work dattebayo. How fucking hard is it to find a simple damn pipe the right size I need?_ '

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

" _It is time… We have been patient enough. It is time to bring her home._ " A powerful authoritative voice spoke on open speaker from an office phone resting on a large oak desk.

Sitting behind the desk, with elbows resting on the desktop. A man in a well-made dark black suit and tie, with long shoulder-length jet hair, a tilak resting on his forehead as his chin rest on his interlocked fingers. His brown eyes stare blankly at the phone.

"Understood sir," the man spoke back in a calm slightly cold smooth voice.

" _I will leave the procedure up to you Tseng. But the ancient must brought back undamaged, am I understood?_ "

"Understood. It will be done President Shinra," Tseng said reservedly. Lifting his chin and unclasping his fingers, the man turns off the phone.

Clasping his fingers back, and returning his chin back on top, his brown eyes shift over to another pair of brown eyes that belong to a petite young woman with shoulder-length wavy red hair. She also wore a suite similar to his, but with fingerless gloves covering her hands. She crossed her arms under her chest.

"So, we're really going after her this time," the woman spoke in a soft tone. "No more lollygagging."

"I could keep the president's attention away from her for so long. But now Hojo is in his ear, my hands are tied Cissnei."

The redhead sighed; "Liked she'd be safe with 'that' psycho doctor getting his claws into her. It just… It feels like we're betraying him," Cissnei's voice calm with only a minor hint of anger in her tone.

"You don't think I feel the same? We were both his friends, but we are still Turks first and foremost. You're coming with me on this one, along with Reno and Rude."

Cissnei groaned as her shoulders slumped forward; "Rude I don't mind, But Reno is a lazy dumb ass. He'd just screw up somehow."

"Perhaps," Tseng shrugged. "But he is the fastest person among us next to you. And I want no mistakes; Aerith won't escape us this time."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Heaving a long sigh, Naruto closed the cabinet doors under the kitchen sink. After taking least an hour an half one of his clones finally found the right piping he needed. Cleaning and replacing the old pipe barely took twenty minutes.

Aerith giggled at the tall blond; "You're even dirtier than when you left." She smiled while standing beside him as he turned on the faucet as water went down the drain properly. "You did it."

A smirk came from the Uzumaki before looking down at himself; "How the hell did I get this filthy just looking for a freaking piece of pipe. I need a shower."

"If you want to eat," Elmyra said. "Go wash up while I make supper this time."

Giving a flux salute, Naruto turned and jogged up the stairs. Ever since he showed up, he and the Gainsborough matriarch have been taking turns cooking. And it remained those two upon Naruto learning that his late wife was not the single worst cook ever. At least Sakura's food actually looked like food compared to whatever Aerith did.

Rounding the top steps, Naruto went into his room grabbing a clean shirt and sweats for the night. Walking passed Aerith's room and turning right, he entered the bathroom. Modest in size, maybe a touch or two larger than the one from his old apartment back home. But had a much homier feel with the colorful wallpaper, and touches here and there by how Emmett had made the place.

Putting his clean clothes on the sink, and stripping down and tossing his filthy clothes of the day into the hamper, the blond started the shower. Getting the dirt, sweat, and dust off with the hot water, his mind wanders over the few weeks being here.

Once he was healthy enough he stared usual morning exercises behind the house. But for his more dangerous jutsu, he went to the scrapyard. From Kenjutsu, Taijutsu, Senjutsu and Kurama's chakra cloak to his wind and fire elemental jutsus worked fine, save only his summoning jutsu which produced nothing.

Kurama had explained that summoning could only be performed in the dimension where those he made a contract with existed. Meaning he could no longer summon Hein or Gamakichi. It bummed him out, but he knew there were others back home with the contracts so things would be okay.

And finally the last thing that was plaguing his mind… Raven…

Now Naruto could honestly say he had seen quite a lot weird crap over the course of his twenty-one years of life. But to encounter an actual bonafide divine being, that shot to the top of his 'crazy fucking shit list'.

The blond Uzumaki was never much of a religious person per say. However, one does gain a new perspective upon witnessing something one once thought to be flat out to be impossible.

Thankfully a certain kitsune was willing to go into details of the gods and their ranks that he was aware of. But much to Naruto's very vocal annoyance, Kurama would not say anything on that Raven woman. Even when going into his mindscape, the old fox either changed subject or pretended to be asleep.

In some way, it was like Kurama was afraid even to mention the woman's name. When bringing that up the only answer he got was all gods, demons, angels and other spiritual and celestial beings gave this goddess a 'universal' wide berth. Why? She didn't feel evil to Naruto when she showed up and saved them both. Of course he was nearly dead, so not every mental function was working as they normally do at the time.

Eventually the young Sennin just gave up in asking.

Besides, Raven did say she'd see him again. He just zero idea as to when, Oh well…

A throaty noise came from his tenant; **"So what is the agenda for tomorrow brat?"**

' _Aerith said she was selling flowers on the upper plate again. Gonna keep her company._ ' The blond shrugged as he washed his hair.

Presently the blond was still working on the flower cart when they went to the church. Aerith told him she did have a flower basket and was fine with that, but Naruto just felt compelled in fixing that cart. The problem was the parts were a unique size and he had to get creative with the repairs.

If you're gonna be creative, you do it Uzumaki style as his odd uncle Samenosuke always said.

" **Be honest kit, you're rebuilding that damn thing. But for what reason, trying to show up that girl's former mate?"**

' _Hell if I know, she did say he wasn't a bad guy. He just worked a lot. And he was in SOLDIER.'_

A dry look came from the fox; **"Is that your shinobi paranoia thinking there was some ulterior motive to him when coming to her?"**

' _Why would there be? Aerith is just a normal beautiful young lady who loves flowers,'_ the blond dismissing the fox's words.

Kurama went silent letting Naruto finish his shower for supper. The old fox could not quite fully sense it, but that Aerith girl was anything 'but' normal.

Still, he'll just let Naruto figure it out for him. Because yeah, he was lazy like that.

XxX ~ next day ~ XxX

After his usual morning training which began at three in the morning, and finished at around six. Taking a shower and making breakfast at seven when the Gainsborough ladies woke up. The blond Uzumaki donned a dark burnt orange shirt, black Anbu pants with his kunai holster on his thigh and sandals. His Sage coat and Hite-ate for the finishing touch while Aerith wore a dress like the one she had on when he first met her.

With some of her flowers freshly plucked from the church and in her weave-basket, the two headed from the train station that led to the upper plate. They went through the large crack in one of the sector walls into the unfinished and deserted sector 6. Broken roads, rusted out construction equipment, make-shift bridges made by someone who made sure people got through safely.

The place was an overall mess, but Naruto did find some minor training with the occasional monsters that popped up once in a while. The brunette beside him said she usually found good spots to avoid being seen when there were monsters around.

While Naruto applauded Aerith's cunning. Kurama however was growing more and more certain this was no normal human girl. But all he had was his gut feeling and zero proof, thus he kept quiet.

Aerith's emerald orbs gazed around the broken Sector; "All these years I lived here, I never seen Sector 6 without some Hedgehog Pie or some other monster walking around."

"Those little bastards are mostly annoying alone or in a group. It's those _Whole Eaters_ that are a freaking pain. Tenacious as the giant spiders back home in the Forest of death." The blond grumbled till noticing the wide eyed stare from his new friend, "Have I ever talked about that yet?"

The beautiful brunette still looked deeply shocked as she weakly spoke; "You did failed to mention that one…" Half of her was afraid to ask. Giant spiders… That had creeped her out enough on its own.

"Short version, It's a huge survival training ground in Konoha. Hell it has its own ecosystem. We keep a giant fence around it due to how dangerous the place is. I went there once when I was twelve for the Chunin exams. A few years later I went back, kept my senses and skills sharp. The animals inside there are massive, very strong, and not too friendly. And I spent two months living in that forest."

'… _I am never going to find some just some normal nice guy am I?_ ' Zack was a good guy… Really, he was. But the man couldn't stand still for five minutes, and the brunette wondered if he was just a touch crazy.

Skipping pass the whole coming from another dimension. The few stories shared by Naruto of his old missions during his time as a Shinobi, she had to rethink the 'entire' concept that was insanity. The blond did not have a boring life that much was certain.

But Aerith did worry how someone actually kept their sanity like Naruto has.

As the duo stepped off the makeshift ramp near the exit of the broken sector, Aerith smiled as they entered a playground just near the threshold of Sector 7. Her emerald orb shined with warmth seeing several children playing on the swing, or going down the large cat-like looking slide.

The blond Uzumaki chuckled as he grinned at the children. Another reason he kept Sector 6 as clear as he could since Sector 5 has no playground, the few parents in 5 thanked him for that one. Aerith giggled as she waved back at the children who waved at her as she and Naruto made for the open gate of Sector 7.

Passing the threshold, Naruto took how contrast this sector was to that of 5. People really got creative in this sector, no doubt due to the larger area they had for themselves. From small to large, even to have buildings on buildings, ranging them from two to three stories. It was impressive the ingenuity of mankind.

Making for the train station, the blond Uzumaki took notice of also the most cleanest look building in this Sector. With a well-crafted wooden front patio, there was a bar with a sign above the door, _7_ _th_ _Heaven_ … The second floor looked like where the owner of bar actually lived there, and finally on the roof of the second floor was a large billboard that had the word 'Texas' on it. He had no idea what that word meant, and he asked around, nobody did either...

" **Give you a guess the idiots just put that last part up because they thought it was cool,"** Kurama chimed sarcastically.

None of them heard a few sneezes from within the establishment.

"Goddamn it Biggs! You sneezed on my fucking sandwich!" The duo froze as they heard a deep angry gruff roar from a man within the bar.

"Sorry Barret!" a smooth male voice responded back quickly.

Emerald and cerulean blinked, once, twice, and thrice before the two resumed walking for the train. "Well someone pissed in his porridge," Naruto muttered.

That earned a giggle from his companion.

XxX ~ the upper plate ~ XxX

Sitting at table outside of a café, Cissnei sipped her tea while Tseng idly read a book. Suddenly, the comm in their ears went off; " _Target identified, the ancient is selling flowers by the fountain as per her normal routine,_ " a deep smooth voice spoke in their ears.

A coy grin grew on the petite redhead; "Consistent if nothing else isn't she?" she rested her chin on her palm.

Tseng turns a page; "Excellent Rude, do you see anything else?"

" _Uh yeah, there is some blond guy with her. Bout as tall as Rude maybe, he's got weird marks on his cheeks. The hell are those supposed to be, whiskers?_ " an easy going male voice spoke on the comms. " _…Oh shit… Boss, this guy has glowing eyes…_ "

Both Tseng and Cissnei look at each other sharply; "SOLDIER… what do you think?" the redhead put her tea cup down.

Tseng closed his book; "…When the ancient is done we go for her. Then will we verify this man; do not engage unless he does. Kill him if necessary. Reno, Rude remain where you are, when she leaves then we go."

XxX ~ Naruto ~ XxX

Skyscrapers that could dwarf anything back in Amegakure. Well pristine roads that are either pathed or made of brick. Shops that had anything, that anyone could have dreamed of. Everything was top of the line on the upper plate of Midgar.

But the blond Uzumaki knew while there are probably quite a few hard working, good and honest people here who earned all they had. There also had to be the ridiculously wealthy who lived up here, enjoying all the finer things in life like the nobles back home.

Yet if there was a choice to either live up here or the slums? Naruto would choose the slums every time. Not because of just Aerith or Elmyra, but because the slums felt more real to him than all the glitz of the metropolis above.

Leaning against the wall of a building, Naruto watched with a smirk as he crossed his arm while Aerith gave a flower to anyone that would listen to her. He saw the joy in the brunette's eyes as gave a flower to people who liked them enough. And it was never for the money that she did this.

It had been a few hours since coming from the slums, and the blond soon noticed his new friend coming over with an empty basket; "They liked your flowers eh?"

"Is not too often that I sell out. Got eighty gil today," Aerith beamed as she and Naruto started for the train station.

The blond picked up one of small silver coins that had a small hole in its center. It was very different to ryō back home, although this did feel more tangible than currency made of paper. Flicking the coin back into the flower basket, the blond smirked; "So now that we're rich shall we buy a mansion." Naruto chuckled getting a playful smack on the arm.

Both lightly laughed as they turned a corner into an alleyway. As they walked, Naruto's sensed several people shadowing them. It was then he saw Aerith freeze up standing in place. Her emerald orbs shone with genuine fear that made Naruto look ahead.

A man dressed in a well-tailored black suit and tie, average in height with shoulder length jet-black hair and a tilak on his forehead stood in their way. The blond could pick an air of authority about this man, as well as dangerous vibe in his brown eyes.

"It's been a while Aerith," the man spoke in calm slight cold tone.

Just hearing this man's voice made his brunette friend slightly hide behind the blond. His glowing cerulean took notice of three others wearing the same kind of suit like this man. One to their right being a tall bald man wearing shades with tanned skin, a no nonsense aura being about him.

On their left is a lanky man with unkempt red hair with a ponytail with goggles holding up his bangs over his eyes. And two symmetrical red marks on his cheekbones. His business coat was unbuttoned with his shirt untucked. An on this guy's belt his saw a strange baton dangle about.

Eying behind them there was a petite woman with long wavy red hair, fairly cute in his opinion. Dress in the same kinda suit but with fingerless gloves on her hands. Her brown eyes were indifferent as they gazed at him, but directed mostly to Aerith.

Naruto looked back to the man who first spoke; "Can we help you?"

The redheaded man looked dryly; "You were in SOLDIER and you never knew a Turk when you see one? What, were you bottom of the barrel 3rd class?"

' _Why the fuck does this guy sound like Iruka-sensei?!_ ' Naruto kept a straight face while having a mental freak out hearing the voice of his former teacher.

" **Oh like someone sounding like another person is something remarkable** " The fox snorted." **But this dumbass here I think just gave you a cover story.** "

Naruto eyed the redheaded man; "Maybe because I was actually busting my ass doing my job. Did you just got out of bed wise ass?"

"Ouch…"

Tseng sighed while Cissnei rubber her eyes; "You'll have to forgive Reno. I am Tseng, leader of the Turks. Behind you is Cissnei, my second in command, to your right is Rude. Reno you just spoke with. And you are?"

"Me..? I'm nobody. Just a sexy blond bastard living life, day by day." Naruto said with a straight face as he protectively stood in front of Aerith. "Something we can do for you?"

"We are here to take Aerith home. Her real home," Tseng said keeping his gaze on the brunette who now gripped Naruto's left arm.

"I am never going back to Shinra," the level of spitefulness in Aerith's terrified voice actually surprised the former Anbu.

Naruto gave a nonchalant grin to Tseng; "And you have your answer."

"I am afraid this is non-negotiable, the ancient will return with us to Shinra as per our orders," Rude spoke up, making the blond sennin to a mental double take.

' _Now baldy here sounds like Itachi! ...What the hell did he call her?_ ' The Uzumaki stealthily reached into his pocket finding the item he needed. "Now we've reached an impasse. Kidnapping a beautiful girl against her will really pisses me off. Especially pisses me off when they happen to be my friend."

Reno lifted both his brows; "Oh… Mister nobody SOLDIER gonna try to stop us? One guy against four Turks?"

A very cryptic looking smirk appeared on the blond as he pulled out two smoke bombs and threw them to the ground at his feet. A large plum smoke covered him and Aerith, as all four Turks look wide eyed with 'four' identical clones of the man bursted from the smoke grabbing each Turk and vanishing via shunshin. The smoke cleared with the original Naruto and Aerith were gone.

' _Kurama, you know what to do_ '

" **Yeah yeah…** "

XxX ~ Reno ~ XxX

The goggle's wearing redhead did not know what the hell happened. One minute they had the ancient, and that blond ex-SOLDIER guy pinned at a four way alley section. Then Mr. Nobody SOLDIER threw some smoke bombs and four blonds came out and grabbed him and the others and vanished.

Now here they were somehow at the park, alone, with the blond bastard staring him down. Pulling his Electro-Mag Rod from his belt, Reno lightly glared; "Who the fuck are you?"

The Kage Bunshin just smirked crossing his arms; "Like I said before ass hat, just a nobody."

Not taking this lightly, the redhead began running at the blond clone, unaware just what he was getting into as he picks up the speed. "Ass hat THIS!"

The clone had to admit, this guy had some footwork. From the start of his sprint to right in his face he was all over the place, zigging and zagging before swinging the rod at him, electricity crackling. Ducking under the strike, Naruto grabs onto the redhead's foot before pulling hard, slamming the Turk to the ground and then lifting him in the air, slamming a kick into his back and sending him tumbling back to the swings. Reno even landed perfectly on one and swung back before landing on his ass promptly.

Getting up, Reno growls as he charges his rod again. Before he could start running, the blonde was already jumping off the swings and spinning. Seeing the incoming attack, the redheaded Turk zips to the side at the last second and stabs for his opponent. Not nearly enough speed, as the blonde swung his body and kicked the rod into the air and spun on his hands, slamming a kick from hell into Reno's gut and sending him into a wall.

Groaning, Reno shook his head as he rubbed his eyes; _'This son of bitch is faster than me_.' He cough as he spat out some blood; _'Oh hell... Maybe I can get lucky... I'd rather be sleeping on the couch right now than this._ '

Getting back up to a vertical base. Naruto's clone lightly nodded; "You can take it, I will say that. But just so you know red, I was holding back..."

Reno just glared at the blond; he could feel a rib or two cracked. He had to hope a surprise move could get this guy in one shot; _'Here we go_!'

With a wild run, Reno sprints towards the blond in a flurry, his feet a blur as he catches the blonde with a swing, only for the guy to fade like he was just fog. As the redhead turned to catch anything behind him, he was surprised with nothing. No one was even near him. "Come out here you bastard! You said you were holding back, and then teach me what you can REALLY do! I dare ya!"

With a whisper in his ear, the eyes of the redhead turn faint and wide. "Dare accepted..." Quickly and on reflex, Reno rolls forward, barreling himself to the ground and sending a rising back kick to whoever was behind him. He felt something hit, but it didn't deter the blonde clone as a sliding sweep kick smacks into his head, sending him barreling back on his feet before being clocked by a roundhouse to his head. Feeling a hand on his leg again, he feels gravity motion the other way around as he is lifted to the air, only to slam into the ground.

It was not over, however, as Reno feels himself pulled back up, being tossed into the turn-table and swinging in circles until he is too dizzy to even move. Getting off and on all fours, Reno tries to hold his stomach. He never noticed the final strike as his own baton shocks him on the ground till he passes out.

The clone eyed the shock baton in his hand before tossing it. "You know what you're doing. But unless your name is either Rock Lee, Might Gai, or A. You don't know what speed is red. See ya." He didn't really care if that guy was unconscious, but just felt like doing a bit of trash talk before dispelling.

XxX ~ Rude ~ XxX

Standing outside of a café, the heavy hitter of the Turks and the Kage Bunshin slowly circle each other before stopping. Rude stood least two or three inches taller than Naruto, not prone to panic under pressure or even curious how he had Shunshin them here.

This guy was business, although the blond did have to wonder what kinda of parents name their child 'Rude'. That thought vanished as information came from the clone that had faced Reno. "Your friend with the goggles is out of the game. I'll give you one chance to go."

Rude simply took some black leather gloves from his pocket and put them on his hands. He never spoke a word as he got into an expert boxer's stance.

The Anbu Sennin sighed; "Least I offered..." He got into a Taijutsu stance.

Rude moves slowly and meticulously towards the blonde before sending a couple swings his way, two jabs and an uppercut came flying past the clone's face, but he leaned away each strike before it could connect. The uppercut was then turned into a downward thrust, Rude not letting Naruto have room to strike on his own. As Rude slowly backed Naruto into a corner, the blonde clone put a foot up, leaning against the wall a few feet back and blocking the punch with the ball of his foot.

Rude backed off quick, sensing the incoming counter, but was too late as the blonde's foot connected against his knee, forcing him on the other before getting a kick to the jaw and sent back-flipping back. Landing in a booth seat perfectly, Rude shook himself off, only to see the blonde smirking, a towel over his arm and a platter in the other hand. "May I take your order? OH! One ass-whooping coming right up!"

Breaking the table, Rude stood back up and with a jerking movement side to side, he closed in on Naruto, his eyes glued on his target as he his fists flew. Swinging out, jab after jab with hooks and hay-makers, Rude was putting on the pressure and not even breaking a sweat from the fierce uppercuts. Naruto was a little impressed, this guy was not a joke. But he was still no match either, as a hard straight whizzed past his face he stepped in, grabbing the other fist coming to jab him in the gut, and then slamming the guy's own gloved fist into his jaw thrice over before throwing him to the ground and kicking him along the floor to rest. "You'd be wise to stay down."

"I won't bad mouth your skills. You trained your ass off to get as good as you are. I can respect that, But you won't win this fight," the clone said with zero arrogance in his tone.

The blond groaned as Rude got back to his feet. He watched the tall bald man take off his broken shades and tossing them. Reaching into the inner pocket of his coat, Rube pulled out new shades and put them on.

A light chuckle came from the former Anbu; "Always fight with style. I dig that." Both got back into their respected stance.

Once more, Rude was swift, stepping up with multiple jabs, furious and wicked fast as he broadly punched at any point on the blonde's body that moved to attack, keeping a distance to make sure the clone couldn't do that throw again. Seeing an in, the tall bald Turk swings with enough force to break the bar, which he did when he missed as Naruto jumped back.

Grabbing a chair, Rude slams his fist into the seat and breaks it apart, shreds of metal and wood and cotton flying at the blonde in front of him. Quickly entering the fray of his distraction, Rude roared with hooks and uppercuts through the mist of the broken chair, only to hit nothing. As the dust of the chair's cotton and leather dissipated, he found nothing in front of him.

Naruto was, instead, above him. "That wasn't very polite, you know! Mother ever teach you manners? Oh wait, you're RUDE!" As the Turk looked up, Naruto slammed a heavy kick into his face, breaking the man's glasses again before picking up his foot and ducking forward, grabbing the man's suit and rolling on his back as he pulled the Turk down. Jumping up, Naruto tosses Rude under him and out the diner window on the other side where the sign was.

Rude stood back up, rubbing his head and looking dizzy. As their eyes met, Naruto didn't warn him before he was clocked out. He could hardly contain his laughter as Rude was knocked over the head by the swinging sign. "Well, seems I wasn't the one who beat him, the dinner did."

The clone looked over to some of panic workers hiding; "It's cool now. Put it on baldy's tab." The girls lightly screamed as the clone dispelled.

XxX ~ Cissnei ~ XxX

"What the hell did you do?" the petite redhead demanded as she gazed at the new surrounding of a parking lot.

The blond clone shrugged; "Gave us some room and distance... Let boss get Aerith away from you guys... Oh by the way, Reno and Rude are down for the count."

Her brown eyes narrowed; "You won't stop us traitor. We will take the ancient back."

"Traitor is such a nasty term. But least I still have my conscience. Can you say the same?"

The redhead said nothing as she pulled out and opened her large crimson colored shuriken. Design was a bit different from a Demon wind shuriken, but same premise over all.

Naruto whistled; "I got something like that back home. But prefer smaller ones... You know, if we weren't enemies, I probably ask ya out. Why do I always fight cute girls that want to kick my ass?" The blond slumped forward.

Before he could contemplate such, the clone had to duck back as the Shuriken slashed for the throat. Jumping back, the blond was surprised by the swift strike coming for his head so soon after, and then jumping clear out of the way. Cissnei had thrown the thing straight for him, but now that she was disarmed he was soon upon her and thrusting a kick against her.

The redhead turned away from it, slamming a palm into his knee but was taken in stride as Naruto bent his leg down and let the force of her strike land his foot solid on the ground, letting him kick up with the other leg. This Turk, however, was not like the other two, as she slammed her hands into the foot, twisting it around and kicking back at the blond.

With his foot in a strangle hold and his back to the kick, the blond had no choice but to take the strike, sending him flying up in the air. Had Kurama's chakra not being flowing through him, reinforcing him to greater levels than an average clone, he would have dispelled already. Once airborne he twisted around to regain his stance when he landed, but what would have been a recovery for the clone was replaced by panic, as the red shuriken was falling above him, straight for his chest. Catching the shuriken at full force, the blond was forced down by the swinging momentum and sailing back to Cissnei.

Taking the momentum, Naruto swung the weapon at Cissnei, only to find her jumping right at him and taking the shuriken back and swinging for his chest. Catching the blade again, Naruto was forcing himself to take the upper hand by kicking the bottom blade, knocking it from the redheaded Turk's grip. But as it pulled her, she flipped and smacked him with a solid uppercut slice kick, and sent him into a car, crashing the window.

Landing on her feet, the redhead caught her weapon in the air and let it rest on her shoulder.

 _'I am so glad we can take beatings now_ ,' the clone mentally mused sarcastically. Shaking off the cerebral cobwebs, Naruto looked at the redhead. _'This girl knows she is small, and uses that against taller opponents. Bet they never know what hits them when they get cocky with her at first._ '

Cissnei was at least an inch shorter than Aerith, but it did not stop her what so ever. She has very impressive speed and was a lot stronger than she appeared. And those combat skills were nothing to sneeze at.

"Give up, I will kill you," Cissnei said with finality.

That earned her a mild glared; "All to kidnap an innocent girl who clearly has no love for you or Shinra."

"...It doesn't matter. These are orders from the president himself. The ancients will bring us to the Promise Land. And whether she likes it or not she belongs to Shinra," The female Turk said in a toneless voice.

But the young Sennin picked up what that girl was trying to hide as she spoke. You don't spend a year in Anbu and learn nothing; _'she doesn't really believe that_.' "Well then... Bring it on little red."

And bring it was what she did, as she, again, threw her shuriken at the blond. As the blond moved out of the way the weapon stuck itself into the car. Still in the air, Naruto noticed that Cissnei wasn't where she was before, but instead, used her Shuriken as a platform to jump off it. Not taking it easy on her anymore, the clone caught the fist coming for his face and pulls the redhead in for a strike of his own. Pushing off his fist as it whiffs by her hip; the Turk pulled him with her as they landed and tried to throw him to the ground, sliding a foot back to unbalance him.

Though that plan failed the moment they landed, as Naruto kicked off the ground and twisted forward. Stomping on the woman's foot, the clone pulled Cissnei back and slamming her back on his knee before catching her neck with his arm. Hoping to put her to sleep was a hopeless move; the trained Turk knew of this move and knew how to get out of it. Bending down, and almost twisting her ankle out of place, she sits down and lifts her leg up, clocking the clone in the head and giving her room to twist herself back, pull herself out, and flip back with a rising kick.

Her escape was a success, but her attack missed when the blond caught her leg and push her down, forcing her to flip herself facing the sky and land on her back. Quickly, the redhead rolls out of the way of the stomp the blond tried to finish her with and kicked at his next strike, pushing herself away before rolling to her feet and jumping back.

Naruto was not done yet, as the female Turk jumped off, he grabbed her shuriken and tossed it at her. Catching the thing, Cissnei runs back into the fight and swings with all her might, the bottom spike embedding in the ground where Naruto once was. Looking up, Cissnei backed from her weapon as Naruto lands on the end, causing it to flip out of the ground. Catching it himself, he threw it back at her and was following the weapon as Cissnei ducked out of the way.

The redhead was no slouch, however, not letting the weapon distract her as she catches the kick to the face coming for her jaw, and trips Naruto with a sweep kick. As he was falling, Cissnei rose up with a fierce uppercut that was blocked by the blond. Grabbing his hand with hers in a death grip, she switched tactics and pulled roughly, tossing the clone to the ground and then twisting his arm, snapping her legs around it and against his neck.

Now, the sleeper hold was on the other end of the fight. Though strong, the woman was light and short, giving him leeway to stand up and slam her to the ground. The first pounding didn't deter her at all, so the blond did it again, feeling her grip become loose before gripping back. A third time almost broke it as the legs around his arm slid off for a brief second. Roaring with his last few breaths, the clone raised the woman to the air and then nearly broke her back on his knee, slamming her to his knee and causing her to cry out in severe pain. Though her grip was death-like, Naruto's strike made her lose her grip long enough for him to split her legs from their trap and swing around, causing her to fly off him and into the ground, bouncing a little as she did.

Unable to move, the redheaded Turk looked in rage at the blond. But before she could speak, he punched her hard enough to knock her out, finally. "Sorry, cutie, but not on the first date."

Naruto took a deep breath resting his hands on his knees as he leaned forward; "Damn she's good" He learnt some interesting things during their fight. "What the hell is the Promised Land?" He shook it off as he dispelled.

XxX ~ Tseng ~ XxX

Not a second after the two appeared at the town square by the large fountain where Aerith had sold her flowers, Tseng had already drawn his 9mm Beretta. He nearly shot the clone between the eyes had he not deflected it with a kunai, pushing the Turk leader back with enough force with a reverse kick, they stare down one another as bystanders either run away or hide and watch.

The blond Uzumaki looked at the firearm in Tseng's hand with mild annoyance. He seen a few in the slums used by thugs. "Really hate those things. Any idiot can pull a trigger and think their badasses."

"We agree on something," Tseng said in a calm tone. "Walk away from this. You were in SOLDIER, you know Shinra won't stop till we get what we want."

"Don't be such a pessimist," Naruto countered. "So what's the Promised Land? Little red brought that up before I knocked her out."

The leader of the Turks narrowed his eyes; _'He took out Cissnei. Then Reno and Rude weren't a match for this man. How is able to generate copies of himself?_ ' "You have no need to know now. Only understand Aerith is important for the future of Gaia."

"I doubt she agrees. She probably tell you to go to hell if she wasn't so polite," the clone crossed his arms. "So yeah, not happening Tseng. So let's beat each other to death like civilized gentlemen shall we?"

Sheathing his side-arm, Tseng tightened his gloves before getting into a tall and narrow stance. "I'd hardly call you a gentleman. After you, of course..." Getting a shrug back from that, Tseng tensed just in time to take a punch to the gut, catching the fist that sank itself into his abs. Swiftly, the leader of the Turks bent the arm around the back of his head, knocking the other fist coming to take him out, wrapping it around the blonde's chest and lifting the clone in the air before slamming him down to the ground. As the clone hit the ground, Tseng rolled with his momentum and launched up, kicking at the hand coming to grab him to prevent his escape. "Hm..."

That took the cake; even Cissnei didn't land such a blow that quick into the fight. Jumping to his feet, Naruto had to use both arms to block the kick coming his way, ducking under the next one. But the third kick, as Tseng spun around and split-kicked low to the ground knocked the clone back again. Standing back up quickly, the blond noticed Tseng again on his feet and tugging his gloves tight on his hands.

As the dark haired Turk kept his cool, he had to admit that this was not the blond's best. "Stop holding back or you'll find out just how tough I really am."

Ignoring the man, the clone jumped forward, rolling on the ground and launching at Tseng with a fierce whirlwind kick, only to miss as the Turk stepped to the side and swung out where Naruto would land. His landing foot kicked from under him, Naruto landed on the other and kicked himself up, going upside down and on his head he blocked the kick coming to his chest and swung for Tseng's gut with his feet. Though even this strike was blocked by the Turk leader, who threw the leg aside, spinning Naruto, and kicking again at the clone's back.

Sliding a little, Naruto groaned a bit as he spat out dirt. Tseng was on him before he could blink, forcing him to launch his body up and catch the kick. Knowing full well this guy was suing his legs as a way to distract his other moves; Naruto didn't take any chances as he rolled beside the leg and dodged out of the way of the fist Tseng smacked his leg with. Rolling out of the way, the blond kicked his legs up and in the air at Tseng, scissor kicking the Turk, only to find empty space.

The dark haired man jumped over Naruto and landed on his feet in front of the blond, sliding a leg to the man's head. The clone quickly launched backwards and back to his feet, getting in stance. "Alright... You want my best, and then you get it."

 _'Guess being the leader of these Turks isn't for show. Let's get serious then_ ,' Naruto charged in a blur as Tseng narrowed his eyes.

The long haired man ducked expertly from a roundhouse kick aimed for his head. "That's more like it."

Swiftly bringing his kick back down, the clone slammed his foot to the pavement as Tseng dodged backwards and then stepped forward with a strong hook. Blocking the strike, Naruto kicked at the man's feet, finding no chance when the man stepped back again, and stepped aside the kick that came afterwards from the same leg.

Catching the leg was another mistake from Naruto, however, as soon as he latched onto the leg, Tseng grabbed his shoulders and pulled the blonde close, clamping the leg onto his back and dragging the blond to the ground. It took quick thinking, but the clone caught himself before Tseng could slam his head into the ground. Both letting go of each other, they got back to their feet before charging in together. Tseng's wild hook to the abs was blocked by Naruto's charge inwards and shoulder bash. Tseng rolled into the shoulder and struck with his elbow, only to find Naruto backing up and sliding a kick up at him. Ducking back and then to the ground in a crab stance, Tseng ducked under the return kick before launching up and spinning himself, a double whirlwind kick that Naruto backed off from.

The clone returned to the Turk leader in force, and finally landed a hit after a failed series of close range jabs, all of which the Turk blocked and deflected to any side he chose. But as soon as Naruto switched from jabbing and did something unpredictable, Tseng found his nose bleeding when the blonde stomped forward to slam his head into the man's face, knocking him back and off balance.

Before Tseng could recover, Naruto let loose, a kick to the leader's chest sent him flying back, but then he raced to the Turk before he fell completely and slams his elbow into his back, knocking him forward and into the next punch as he twisted around from his elbow strike, using the same arm, and slams a heavy fist into the man's gut. Sending the Turk up a bit off his feet, the clone rolled his other arm up and then slammed his elbow into the Turk's back once more, and slams him down to the ground finally.

Naruto knew he hurt his opponent but he also knew this guy wasn't done yet. Tseng rose to his feet as blood dripped from his lip. Some internal bleeding as it looked. Yet despite that Tseng remained calm and collected, never showing any signs of pain, save for an involuntary body twitch here and there.

The clone eyed the fountain for a second as he looked at the man; "Up for more?"

"Let's go."

The blond was ready, but still was not fast enough to see Tseng, even in pain, be able to pull off a right hook into a spinning sweep kick and then a flipping rising axe kick, all to finish with a jumping double heel kick. Naruto dodged the punch, pulled his leg up away from the sweep, side-stepped the flip kick, and blocked the double heel kick, but that last one pushed him back against the fountain.

Tseng had him on the ropes, but even the Turk knew he was just fighting a wall now. Landing on his feet after the last attack, he charged the blond and pinned the blond's leg to the fountain and ducked under the punch his way, catching the knee trying to push him back and ramming his elbow into the blond, pushing him into the fountain. Though the clone was feeling the pressure, the blond knew he had to get up, slapping against the water, he uses his buoyancy to come back up, meeting Tseng's fist. Rolling his head to the side, the blond again slams his head to the Turk, only this time the Turk hit back.

Both fighters were wrestling for control at this point, both stuck as their hands flipped around each other's attempts to jab, to grab, or to get away. Tseng finally found his chance by taking both hands back and wrapping them around the blond. Pulling the clone up, he tried to knee the man until he knocked the wind out of him, but Naruto didn't let those attacks land, his hands becoming red from the constant strikes.

Roaring, Naruto finally had enough of this. Using all his weight, Naruto slams down on Tseng's knee, not only stomping it to the ground but also twisting the leg to the side and causing Tseng to fall to his knee, giving Naruto the breathing room to grab the man's head and punch him in the head. Every other time his fist connected, Tseng blocked it, only for the next to hit and his vision go blurry. Naruto finally just took the man's head and brought it to his knee, slamming the Turk's head to the ground behind him from the force, and knocking him out finally. Huffing, the clone shrugs it off and stands up. "Boss better not let this guy get with Cissnei in a fight; those two together might do some serious damage."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

As the final clone dispelled, and Naruto processed everything he had just learned of Tseng and his Turks. His cerulean orbs gaze down at his visibly shaken friend, whom he had his left arm wrapped around her shoulder. Her head buried in his chest, she tensed up when the train jostles on the track on its way back to the slums.

Aerith gripped her flower basket so tight Naruto could see the white of her knuckles as she hugged it to her chest. "This has happened before," the blond's quiet words being more a statement than question.

He felt the brunette slowly nod; "…Since I was little…" Almost whispered cautiously, his friend looked up at him with her emotions of fear and panic in her eyes. "N… Naruto… Would… Would you think I'm a monster if I told you I was only half human?" Her voice was nearly a pleading whisper as she spoke fearfully.

The blond Uzumaki just lifted a brow at her.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

As they returned home in Sector 5, Elmyra could sense something was wrong. Upon Aerith nearly whispering it was them, the older woman panicked till Naruto calmed her down and explained he took care of the Turks.

But presently he needed to know some things. An sitting quietly at the kitchen table, Elmyra and Aerith had finished explaining as to why Shinra was after to her. The younger brunette had avoided eye contact through the talk as he had listened to everything.

"She's always been able to avoid the Turks whenever they showed up," Elmyra as she held her daughter's hand. "I guess the president got tired of waiting."

"They really believe you can take lead them to some Promised Land," the blond Uzumaki folded his arms.

Aerith shook her head; "They believe it enough to keep coming after me. But never like this." Had Naruto never been there…? She did not want to think of that. But now the blond knew the truth. "Naruto do you..?" Th blond lifted his hand making her silent.

"First and foremost… You're no monster, end of that discussion," Naruto said sternly before softening. "In the five weeks I have known you, I know without a shadow of a doubt you're one awesome lady."

It felt like pressure had left Aerith's body as long sigh escaped her body. A smile formed on her lips as she just wanted to hug the man, till noticing a somber gaze from his glowing cerulean. "Since we're revealing things… I better explain what I am… I'm a Jinchurriki."

Puzzled looks came from both mother as daughter as they tried pronouncing that word in their heads. "It means; 'Power of the Human Sacrifice'." Both ladies looked wide eyed.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Naruto sat quietly as he had spoken a few hours of what a Jinchurriki is, and his complete life as an orphan. The time of when he a baby to the age of twelve not a pleasant one. Things getting better when meeting his cousin Karin, then both Naruto and Karin being adopted by Tsunade. Encountering his other Uzu clan members.

But he could tell the whole living weapon for your nation did not sit well with either of them; "Trust me I made peace with this a long time ago."

"But it's not right," Elmyra said sternly.

"Perhaps not, but Godaiyo was filled with constant wars. Old man Hashirama did what he thought was right to keep villages from war. Don't think he truly understood what he done, but here we are now."

Aerith looked at him; "This… Kurama person is still with you?"

Instead of answering, Naruto got up from his chair. Bit his thumb as he did the familiar hand sign combined with his Bijuu's chakra. Slamming his hand down on the floor a large puff of smoke appeared. Both Gainsborough ladies tensed up as the smoke cleared and seeing an orange fur fox, the size of an average man with nine tails lazily moving about.

Kurama sat on his hutches as he crossed his arms; **"I trust this helps your level of understanding?"** The old fox asked sarcastically.

"This is Kurama, my friend. And don't mind the sarcasm, he's always surly."

The old fox snorted as he rolled his glowing crimson eyes. He shifted his head to Aerith who, unlike her mother looked slightly afraid, was curious. **"I knew you were more than a simple human."** Kurama leaned in as the brunette surprisingly followed suit.

Aerith's emerald eyes stare into the Bijuu king's crimson as slowly she rose her arm as her dainty hand. Naruto lifted a brow as the brunette's hand touched Kurama's lower jaw.

" **You are an interesting mortal… And with an active chakra network no less."**

That got three very surprised gazes, Naruto shook his head as he looked at his old friend; "Aerith has what?"

" **I did not fully notice till you brought me out here. Whether it is of your** _ **unique**_ **heritage I am uncertain. But I told you kit, chakra exists in all realms, albeit they have different names or the method of wielding it properly. Most of course never do, thus having civilian level of chakra to survive. This could be a boon."**

Naruto looked to his new friend; "Care to learn how wield your chakra? I'd also if you're comfortable like teach you how to defend yourself"

The brunette looked shocked at the blond's proposal.

 **XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX**

Now before anyone even asks me, no Aerith will not be learning any Jutsu. **AT ALL!** This is merely to help her Cetra powers, for which we know are bad ass. And wanting to give a base on how she learned to use a stave weapon in the first place.


	3. Our game is our game

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Final Fantasy VII

Beta: Etheral-23

Action Scenes: Godospartan the kitsune

Prequel: Our game is our game

"An ex-SOLDIER… You are certain of this?"

"Yes sir," A bandaged Cissnei gave a curt nod as she stood in the room of top floor of Shinra headquarters. "The Mako glow of his eyes was a dead giveaway."

The man who sat directly in front of her at the largest and sole desk in the room with several monitors and computer was the man who ruled all of Gaia itself. Despite being of short stature, his calm demeanor and sheer confidence casted a strong presence. The president wore, of course, only the finest burgundy suite with a white button shirt underneath with a red tie. His short blond hair was well-groomed, showing only a few strands of grey on the sides along with his thick mustache.

Smoke rose from his cigar made from his favorite special brand from Costa del Sol as his piercing blue eyes gazed at the petite redhead. "And this traitor had taken out all of you? With Tseng, Reno, and Rude having to be placed in the medical ward for severe injuries. Do we know who this ex-SOLDIER is?"

"Freyra and Balto are currently looking through every personal file on our database and hard copies."

Not very often did Cissnei speak directly to the president, but with Tseng's extensive injuries, and despite her own she had to play boss of the Turks for a while. She was lucky to have only received bruised ribs out of that knee, although with the thick bandage wrapped around her chest made her want to sleep on the Turk's office couch with some ice. Least those pain meds were finally kicking in, hallelujah to modern medicine.

But what in the hell was that blond bastard's knee made out of, mythril?! Oh she will get him back, especially for that cutie comment she heard before going unconscious. Only one guy really had the balls to get away with flirting with her. Never mind that she usually decked Reno for his attempts to woo her.

Least Ruluf admitted he just wanted to sleep with her. Still earned him a knuckle sandwich to dreamland, but at the very least he was honest about his intent.

She was pulled from her thoughts as the president spoke up; "Until we can fully identify this man I am suspending in retrieving the ancient till further notice."

While not outwardly showing it, Cissnei was thrown a mental curveball upon hearing the order. President Shinra was a business man through and through, but the man was no coward. If someone was in his way, that individual would be gone within a day.

This had to be due to Aerith. The president would much rather have her come willingly, despite knowing full well what that madman Hojo will do to her. But this ex-SOLDIER was too large of a variable to take reckless action.

Or he simply did not trust Cissnei enough like he does Tseng to handle the situation, not that she cared either way. "What are my orders, sir?"

"I want recon on this traitor; find any information you can on this man. If he could take out Tseng and you, this man could possibly pose a threat to everything."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Cissnei's pace was slow as she descended down one of the two large stairs to enter the presidential 80thfloor. The 79th wasn't much to see, just holding the president's secretary's office and being a glorified waiting room. The petite redhead winced with every other step, at the bottom she saw two people dressed in the same Turk's attire looking up at her.

One was an attractive woman of average height with long raven black hair going to her waist, sable brown orbs showing concern for Cissnei. To her left is a towering, muscular man with short spiky light brunette hair with lapis colored eyes.

"Well, what is the word from on-high?" the man asked in deep tone.

Cissnei stopped at the bottom of the stairs; "For now, we do nothing Maur. We halt on the pursuit after the ancient. Right now we look into who our traitor ex-SOLDIER is."

A sigh came from the raven haired woman as she rubbed her eyes; "Cissnei you should be resting."

"I will be fine Judet. For now we need to learn who this guy is."

Maur rubbed his stubble chin; "Are we certain blondie is one of ours?"

"Know anyone outside of Shinra's SOLDIER division who has glowing eyes?" Judet placed her hands on her hips looking up dryly at the man. "You sure you were a detective before joining us?"

The petite redhead rolled her eyes as she walked passed the two who followed closely behind. "While Freyra and Balto check the computers, I want you two to look around." Cissnei said as they exited the secretary's office. "Maur, go to the SOLDIER division HQ. Look for anything and talk to anyone that may recognize who this guy is."

"Got it boss," the tall man nodded. The former detective was damn grateful someone had a camera phone on them while watching the fight with Tseng. At the very least they had a picture of blondie.

"Judet I want you to visit over to the Shinra Military Academy. I want every angle to be checked out. Also I want you both to check the upper plate and slums." The trio walked through a hall into another room with chairs, a vending machine and two elevators. The slide door opens on the left as they had entered; Judet pressed a floor button as the doors closed and the elevator descended.

The former female merc crossed her arms as she leaned against the glass; "Blondie had to be 1st class. Nobody just takes down four Turks like it was easy. But why have none of us every seen him before?"

"Can any of us say we have met all the members in SOLDIER?" Maur countered as he gazed out to the city below. "Sure we have files on all of the individuals of whoever signed up, and while yeah, 1st class is not exactly a huge regiment. Can any of us honestly say we read through every single one of those files?"

He was right, between the lists of applicants next to high potentials that are personally sought out by Shinra. The sheer volume of files just to go over was a massive goddamn nightmare in Cissnei's silent opinion. ' _But we will find out who you are._ ' Cissnei mentally mused looking out at the mega-metropolis. ' _Wings are dreams for those who have none. And no one escapes Shinra forever._ '

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

' _Well, so much for the peaceful life…_ '

" **HAH! That life would never have suited you. You'd be driving us both insane from boredom"**

A low throaty grumble came from the blond Uzumaki, wearing his night clothes, as he sat on the roof of the cottage. His glowing cerulean orbs stayed fixed on the upper plate that hanged over the slums. Guess it did not matter what realm he was in, trouble always had a way of finding him.

Still, Naruto Uzumaki never backed from a challenge. But against a company like Shinra who literally ruled Gaia itself, he knew he had to play this one safe. While at the same time he needed to know just who the hell is he was actually dealing with.

' _Infiltration mission…'_

He heard his kitsune friend growl from inside him; **"This needs to be done right kit, as in putting all those Anbu skills into application."**

Make Neko-Taichou proud of putting all that hardcore training he went through to good use. The blond's mind went back to Aerith; ' _Think she will say yes for the training?_ '

" **That girl is no warrior Naruto. I could see that in her eyes as well as you can. Her decision will be based on her morals. Even if she agrees, what you teach her she will use to defend herself only. Violence will never be her first choice."**

' _And I am grateful for that. The academy can pretty it up all it liked. But Shinobi are killers. I've killed people, and could tell Tseng and his Turks have killed before. I never want Aerith to be like what we are. I only want to be sure she can protect herself if I am not around._ '

But that was a double-edged sword and both knew it. Anything he teaches the brunette could kill a man even by accident. Still, better than the alternative and being completely helpless. A bitter pill to swallow, Naruto would just have to face that hurdle when it came.

Till then, there was work to do.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Conversation was light at the bar of a modest diner with most of the customers eating. Behind the bar, the chef cooked delicious smelling food on a flattop stove while another took orders. And quite a few people would swear it was the well prepared dishes by the good natured old cook what had brought them here instead of the much larger restaurant/pub further in Wall Market.

Soft lyrical feminine laughter came from the far end of the bar from a beautiful and curvaceous with shoulder length blue hair, amber color eyes with blue eye shadow wearing a dark blue halter top and black leather pants and dress boots. The lighting of diner only seems to enhance her natural beauty as she sat on a stool.

"Do I really look so strange having blue hair?" the woman said coyly as she tilted her head at the man in a red suit with short black spiky hair sitting at her side.

The man had not stopped blushing since this woman he could only call 'exotic' came into the diner an started speak to him. Least he wasn't alone; most of the other patrons along with chef and server could not stop glancing at her. "Well you never quite see that kinda hair unless you're at Gold Saucer or something like that." ' _How the hell did I get this lucky?!'_ "Um, your name was Konan right?"

He got a wink from the bluenette; "That is correct Mr. Kenji." Why did his heart skip hearing her say his name? "I really find it hard to believe a big shot manager of Shinra comes down here to the slums."

"Well… I was born in the slums when my family moved to Midgar from Wutai. Wanted to help down here so got a job at Shinra," Kenji said bashfully as he rubbed the back of his head. "Got up to manager position and was able to come back to the slums and oversee the businesses that work for the company."

Konan gave a warmhearted smile; "Well aren't you a sweetheart" She leaned over to him and whatever she whispered to Kenji, his blush turned atomic.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

After finishing their meals, Kenji and Konan had made their way to the medium size hotel at the entrance of Wall Market. The Shinra manager had stated he had a room here and it was one the cleanest places to live in the slums. Upon entering, Konan agreed seeing the place was well cared for with clean wooden floors, walls, the owner did a good job making this place pleasing for people needing a place to rest.

Kenji's room was actually beside the reception's desk. Opening the door, the bluenette saw a modest size room with a bedroom, small living room, and smaller kitchen. Kenji also explained the restrooms and showers were in separate areas. It might seem a bit rural to most, but for him it was enough.

As soon as the door was closed, Konan was kissing him hungrily and he returned it with fervor. Kenji's wrapped around her slim waist as they slowly made their way to the bed. Unbeknownst to him, his date was slowly pulling out a senbon from her pocket. As they neared the edge of the mattress, the raven haired man did not even feel the nick on the neck and soon collapsed onto his bed asleep.

"Don't know what scares me most," Naruto's voice came from Konan's mouth. "The fact that Samenosuke-Otooji convinced me into 'explore my options' or the thought of Konan killing me for pulling off this stunt"

In a puff of smoke, dispelling the henge now stood the blond Uzumaki in his uniform jacket and dark burnt orange pants with sandals and hite-ate on his head. He heard a few chuckles at his expense courtesy of his Bijuu partner as walked from the bedroom and into the kitchen for Kenji's briefcase that sat on the table.

' _With infiltration missions you have two methods of entering an enemy stronghold,'_ Naruto mentally remembered Neko-Taichou's lessons. ' _One is going bare bone which can get you possibly killed. Or finding a target and shadow that person. Learn every detail of him or her for a certain period of time.'_

For his target, enter Kenji Kojima, it took one full month to figure this guy out. During that time Shinra had been blissfully silent in any attempt on capturing Aerith. But the Uzumaki kept his vigilance whenever his friend decided going out. Yet what amazed him most, even with the company that ruled Gaia after her, it never deterred the brunette from doing what she loved most.

Aerith might not be a warrior, however she had a one hell of a will that was harder than steel.

Returning to the previous topic, at the very least on finding Kenji was simple enough since he took the same train from Sector 7 up to Midgar's upper city. And while Aerith did her flower business up top, a dozen or more henged kage bunshin followed the Shinra manager wherever he went in the slums or above.

And he had to say one thing about Kojima, while yes he worked for the bad guys, and could at times be an annoying prick, the guy truly cared for Midgar and the people who lived here; Both above and down below.

" **If I were to guess, your 'date' stays down in the slums to keep him level headed,"** Kurama snickered as Naruto sat on a chair at the kitchen table.

' _I'm not going to live that down am I?_ '

" **Oh hell no…"**

Rolling his cerulean orbs, Naruto opened the briefcase. Much like Kenji's apartment, his briefcase was quite tidy and well kept. Though for the blond Sennin's intent, financial papers would be any help to him. Never mind he had zero idea how use the lab-top also inside the briefcase. Aerith did try explaining the concept of computers, but it all went right over his head.

He did understand one thing, if this kinda tech among the rest of the stuff he has seen ever came to his world it would be one hell of a game changer. And not in the good kind of way, especially if the wrong hands got to it first.

Going through the pockets of the top-half of the briefcase, Naruto stopped as he pulled out what looked a black card that said 'executive clearance keycard 60-66 floor'; ' _Jackpot!_ '

A good thing he had some henged clones follow Kenji to the Shinra building. And thank Seiryū the lobby and floors under sixty were open to the public. His clones had discovered that the floors from sixty to seventy were restricted to Shinra employees only.

Searching through another pocket he found Kenji's appointment book which had his schedule to head to the main building a meet his boss Reeve Tuesti tomorrow. ' _Good thing he will be asleep for forty-eight hours._ '

" **He has one of those tech devices and yet uses an old fashion note pad and pen,"** Kurama snorted.

"My guess he's like me. Don't much care for computers, but keeps this thing at least for show." A tug came from Naruto's lips as he put stuff back into the briefcase and closed it. As he stood up and took the case with him, he walked back to bedroom; "defiantly a strange guy." He vanished via shunshin.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"There isn't even a battery in this thing," Aerith said as she examined the laptop while she sat at the kitchen table. The brunette gave a teasing grin over to the blond Uzumaki; "So he is a caveman like you are."

Naruto only rolled his eyes, as both he and Elmyra look through financial papers. The matriarch of the household only shook her head in both astonishment and disgust; "Honestly I shouldn't be surprised by all this. But to think nearly all of Wall Market is actually owned by Shinra."

"This means that supposed boss, Don Corneo guy you told me about is just a stooge," Naruto said absently while reading.

Elmyra nodded; "Exactly. If I had my guess they bought or threatened him, probably both," As she had heard that the man was a bonafide coward and outright sleaze ball. The elder brunette only scoffed at the papers as she shifted her gaze to Naruto; "do you really have to do this?"

"I have no idea just what Shinra really is," Naruto rubbed his temples and sighed while Aerith gazed between her mother and the blond. "And I wasn't going to go behind your backs. I know you both hate this idea, but I need hard facts on these asshats."

That comment earned a dry expression from both ladies. "Because this is the main headquarters of those 'asshats'," Elmyra retorted dryly despite agreeing on the title the blond gave them. "Besides the Turks, they will have armed security which I know from late husband is made up from Shinra's military."

Being that her late husband was in their forces it comes as no surprised that Elmyra knew a few things of Shinra. "And this SOLDIER division I keep hearing about?"

"Unless they changed it after my husband died," Elmyra thought for moment as she rubbed her chin. "At least four, all 3rd class, but they are nothing to sneeze at. 'If you made it into SOLDIER you have talent', as Emmett had told me once."

'… _Wouldn't 1_ _st_ _class level SOLDIERS be the more appropriate to guard their headquarters?_ '

Kurama gave a scoff at his host's thoughts; **"Pride can be a weakness if you let it brat."**

Isn't that the mother of all truths; **"Since these hairless primates are sitting pretty on their perceived delusional throne of the world that is Gaia. Who in the name of sanity would even dare to challenge such authority?"** The old fox finished with sarcasm so thick Naruto could taste it.

' _Well it's a good thing I am a freaking lunatic. Otherwise we would be fucked._ ' As he felt a smaller hand holding his own, Naruto's orbs turned over to Aerith; "What's up?"

Worry and hesitation were obvious in her body language and beautiful emeralds. "I have faith in you that can pull this infiltration thing off." The Sennin could feel a 'but' coming; "But what if one of the Turks are there and realize you're not Kenji?"

"From what I seen, this guy rarely associates with Tseng's group. And not overly fond of them either."

"But these are the Turks," the brunette countered.

The Uzumaki gave a nod; "True. And if by what you and Elmyra have explained they are like Anbu. Meaning they keep track of all enemies and allies alike. All the while they were performing the more dirty jobs from behind the scenes, away from the public notice. Exactly like the Anbu black opts back home."

'… _Why do you make it sound… Like you and Tseng are alike,_ ' Aerith thought as held the blond's hand. Sure she understood that Naruto has killed people as a ninja back home. And while not going into detail of his Anbu days, but the brunette would just never accept it.

She'd refuse to ever see Naruto in the same light as the Turks or Tseng! "Uh, Gaia to Aerith… Hello…" The blond Uzumaki's voice broke her from her musings as she noticed her mother was giggling. "The affection is awesome, but are you wishing to confess something?" Naruto dawned a coy grin.

A few confused blinks came from the brunette as she looked down noticing her hand holding tightly to his. She could not move her hand away fast enough as her mother and blond laugh which made her blush. "Oh hush!"

XxX ~ the following morning ~ XxX

Sitting at his desk, a fully healed Tseng's expression remained unreadable as his gaze lingered on the empty folder on his desk. At the front of his desk, Cissnei did not hide her irritation as she scowled, her arms crossed under her modest chest.

"Nothing… We spent an entire month on trying to figure out just who we're dealing with," Cissnei began to pace. "From the academy, slums, SOLDIER, our profiles; it was like this man just materialized out of thin air." A throaty growl came from the petite redhead as she sat down on the chair in front of Tseng's desk.

Her leader/friend said nothing as he only stared at the folder. His chestnut eyes turned to her; "I doubt sector 5 residents were corporative?"

The silent dry glare from his second in commander spoke more volumes than words. Not that Tseng could blame the people; Shinra never won many favors to the denizens of the slums. However, since the residents of sector 5 were partial to Aerith, they were quite protective of her.

And this was a sense of loyalty that ousted any attempts of bribery or threats. This seemed to have now gone over to the mysterious former SOLDIER. The only things that were of relevance were of some rumors of an individual with spiky blond hair and whisker like marks on his cheeks had been clearing out monsters and bandits in the slums.

But the most frustrating thing among all of this was their inability to have found a name of this blond man. Tseng had been less overly vocal of his irritation than the others. Cissnei only gave small outburst when mentioning the subject, which was rare for her.

A knock on the door made the petite redhead stop pacing while the door soon opened. Walking into the office was a woman of average height, wearing the Turks' uniform with blond hair in a bob-cut, fair skin, and sapphire eyes.

"Emma," Tseng spoke up. "Was there any information on our target?"

The blond gave a shake of her head as she spoke in a no-nonsense tone; "We found nothing on this traitor." Cissnei heard the venom in Emma's wording of traitor.

A long sigh came from the raven haired man as he leaned back on his chair; "How can there be nothing on this man?"

"Does it matter sir?" Emma interjected; "As a traitor of Shinra, his only fate left is death."

Cissnei had to hold back a groan; that simple black and white logic from the blond Turk really was Emma's major flaw. The world was never that abstract, hence why no one told her about Veld and his daughter during the conflicts with AVALANCHE. As far as Emma knew, the former leader of the Turks 'died' a traitor's death.

"I am not having anyone face this man without knowing who we are dealing with Emma," Tseng reproached in an authoritative tone. "The fact we cannot find a single scrap of information on this individual speak more volumes to me than anything else."

Narrowing her eyes, his second caught on; "…Hojo…"

"It crossed my mind," the Turk leader gave a faint nod. "Not the first one of his 'experiments' have come back to haunt us."

And Cissnei could name three certain projects that caused nothing but misery for Shinra. Along with the people who meant something precious to others no longer with them. Emma remained silent as her superiors' spoke; neither saw the blond's right hand slowly closed into a tight fist.

XxX ~ same time ~ XxX

A short haired brunette man in a grey business suit sighed as he walked up the polish stone steps toward the Shinra building. Oh why the hell did agree to work in the mornings? He needed more coffee in him to actually function right now. Least the swill up in the lounge was decent, well only when Cindy was making it.

Damn that girl knows how to brew good coffee and have the sweetest pair of… The man's thoughts were interrupted as he saw a familiar face coming up the step; "Kenji," he said tiredly.

"Jack," The raven haired man nodded before blinking; "You really need to switch shifts man. Are you sure you're even awake?"

"Oh I will be when I see Cindy's awesome 36DD's." A large perverse grin crossed the man's lips.

Kenji only looked back dryly at the man; "How long have you tried to sleep with that woman? And she shoots you down every time."

"A man can dream goddamn it," Jack just waved it off. "What brings you to the palace?'

"Boss," the raven haired man responded as they walked into the building.

"Well you have fun with that," Jack said as he waved going up one of the dual stairs on each corner.

Kenji waved back as he walked past several displays of vehicles and a glass display of Shinra's logo. He ignored the few people wandering the lobby as he made for the elevator. Walking into it, the door closed as he pulled out his keycard. Swiping it near the buttons, the floor buttons of the sixtieth light up. He pressed the 66 button and sighed as the elevator started to rise.

"Glad that pervert and Kenji hung around," Naruto's voice came from Kenji's mouth. By the gods if that Jack guy was not talking about his 'fun time' at that Honeybee Inn brothel down at Wall Market. It was about that Cindy lady he wanted to sleep with.

' _Dealing with Anko, Ero-Sennin, and Samenosuke-Otooji would be paradise than hearing that Jack guy going on and on about this Cindy._ '

" **..If I recall, didn't you get drunk with that snake woman a year ago and proceed to fuck each other silly till the next day,"** Kurama chided back.

In the blond's and Anko's defense, they were assigned together on a highly dangerous and nerve wracking mission against some very vicious pack of missing Nin. After that mess was done, they both agreed on a lot of hard liquor at the pub back in Konoha.

And things kinda spiraled out from there…

' _Could we get back on the infiltration mission, before I decide to come in there and kick your furry ass?_ '

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

' _Why did it have to come to this once again…_?' Chocolate colored eyes only gave upon his computer screen mournfully at last week's news article. ' _Has your hate of us driven you this far that you can't see those caught in the crossfire of your rage?_ '

He might understand the reasoning, given all of Shinra's inhumane actions through the years. But Reeve would never condone outright terrorism that kills innocent people caught in the middle to solve this. And these senseless acts of violence come from a ghost of their past.

If a certain person was not his supposed 'long-term mission' that man would find the entire situation amusing. His thoughts were interrupted by the chime of his slide door that soon opened. Through his henged eyes, Naruto took a good look at the executive head of urban development, Reeve Tuesti.

The man wore a dark blue business suit with a white shirt underneath, and a dark burnt orange tie. He had to give some props to the man for the color choice. An olive skin toned with short jet black haired, and mustache and goatee. Nearly as tall as Naruto as he stood to greet him, man has a firm handshake.

Following the man's gesture, both take a seat as the hidden Uzumaki saw Reeve gaze at his computer screen sadly. "You alright sir?" Kenji asked.

"Hmm, oh yes," Reeve cleared his throat as he looked to Kenji; "Apologies, the event of last week had my attention."

Last week… Oh right, "AVALANCHE…"

"A ghost of our past I had hoped was laid to rest," The executive nodded grimly. "No doubt the rumors are running in the Slums?"

' _How about like wildfire_ ,' Naruto mentally mused, "they are." The henged Shinobi wasted no time as he opened his briefcase and handed over the files Reeve needed.

Going through the papers, the executive of Shinra looked gazed to Kenji; "How are the people reacting?"

Kenji gave a light shrug; "About as you one could expect. Some are frightened, others angry, and some see it as hope. Never saw terrorism as hope though," and Naruto never will. He saw enough of that nonsense back in his old world.

Name the cause, justify it with whatever reasoning that makes you feel it is righteous and must be pursued at all costs. Whether or not what you're fighting against is evil, you never fight evil with hate. Nor do you kill innocent people caught in the middle of your ' _crusade_ '.

Or you eventually become what you hate, the Akatsuki being a prime example of that.

Reeve placed the papers on the desk, the man sighed as he rubbed his temples with his hand. "While I know this is not the original group, the fact they call themselves AVALANCHE feels almost like karma. But as stained as Shinra's hands may be, it will never justify terrorism."

Well now that was some interesting information to fall in the hidden blond's lap. "Anything I can do," Reeve looked Kenji in the eyes before he shook his head.

"This one is out of our hands. All we can do is hope it ends quickly before more unnecessary blood is spilled." The executive paused; "I just wish none was ever shed to begin with."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

' _This might be part of the job, but never really got why Ino loved it so much,'_ Naruto mentally grumbled while he sat quietly, still under his henge, at a round table in the sixty-first lounge floor.

After spending what had to be least an hour speaking to Reeve Tuesti, the hidden shinobi found one thing interesting. That executive head of the urban development was a very good man. Very passionate about protecting the people of Midgar whether they are from the upper plate to the slums below.

Naruto wondered how someone like him could be under the employment of Shinra. By what he's seen of the company's ruthlessness so far, it was strange that they'd keep someone who prioritized the well-being of Midgar's people ahead of Shinra's interests.

He supposed it didn't matter at the moment. Right now he needed more information on Shinra, its background and history of operations to better know just who he was dealing with. So far all he had was the info he had recently gathered, plus the names of the top executives, namely president Shinra.

He currently found himself sitting around in the lounge floor. The room itself was huge with a full grown tree in the center with round or rectangular tables with chairs around it. Along with a dozen or so odd green looking glass statues littered around the walls of the room. Place was impressive if not a bit gaudy.

The henged blond was chewing on a granola bar while stealthy listening to the Shinra employs also having a break in the room. Not the most exciting part of this mission, since most of what people were talking about was either idle gossip bullshit or nothing really anything to do with their jobs other than mild complaints.

The most he heard were about those Eco-terrorists known as AVALANCHE. Disgruntled people who sought to thwart Shinra's activities so they would stop polluting the world.

He understood wanting to rebel against this iron handed company, and yes, no resistance was ever won without shedding blood. But AVALANCHE's activities brought collateral damage, making them easy targets of Shinra's propaganda to paint them as nothing more than terrorists.

Last week AVALANCHE had attacked a Shinra warehouse. Even if the place was a military build or not, there were still unarmed and defenseless workers shot down and killed in the crossfire. And that was something Naruto could not condone.

Reeling in his thoughts, the hidden former Anbu keeps his ears and eyes open. If he did not want to rouse too much suspicion going to the library floor he needed someone else to henge as. And make sure it was not someone heading to that floor as well.

He heard two people talking in the lounge. "Well, break is over for me. I need to keep up with some paperwork" Said a young woman with curly black hair and brown skin.

"Again?" Said a man with sandy blonde hair. "Thought you already finished it yesterday"

The woman sighed dejectedly. "I wish. A new batch came in, and my supervisor wants it done for this Wednesday. So I better get to it now while I still can" She stands up from her chair and gathers her things. "Sorry, but I'm not sure if I'll make it for dinner, I'll trapped in my cubicle for a few hours"

Well, Naruto thought, his luck still held from time to time apparently.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Proceeding to the restroom and checking to see anyone was using the facilities, upon finding none, Naruto henged as the young woman and made for the stairs. Moving casually up to floor sixty-two, the henged shinobi smirked.

This floor consisted of four large rooms which each had rows and rows filled with books. Walking around, the hidden shinobi scanned the golden plaque by each door. He stopped seeing the words Shinra's history.

 _'And here we are_ ,' Naruto walks through as the door slid open and closed behind him. _'Let's see who we're dealing with Kurama.'_ the old fox snorted.

Upon checking the records, he found that Shinra had started out as a weapons manufacturer known as the Shinra Manufacturing Works. But ever since their discovery of the planet's energy, labeled Lifestream, they had begun exploding the resource as a power source and set up numerous all around the globe.

Now that set Naruto on edge, draining the very life essence of the planet was bound to have cataclysmic consequences in the long run.

Shinra had not left their weapon manufacturing practices behind just because of their newfound money and power with the use of 'mako' energy. They had expanded to several fields like scientific research, genetic experimentation, even space exploration. As Shinra grew in power and influence, they pretty much became the world's greatest authority, such that they needed urban development departments as well as public safety maintenance.

Their developments on mako energy lead them to the creation of their private army, as well as the elite SOLDIER program which enhanced humans with mako power. Apparently Shinra not only had to worry about the monsters in the wilds, but also the people discontent with their autocratic ruler ship. More than once they had been deployed to put down unrest and uprisings.

Not to mention their most recent conflict was a nine year war with the... ninja village of Wutai...

The hell?

 _'I think Elmyra mentioned a Ninja village, guess I wasn't paying attention_ ,' the hidden blond mused. Having greater confirmation about it made him wonder about those people, and just what kind of conflict they had with Shinra. ' _Wonder what they are like?_ '

 **"Doubtful they are anything like the shinobi of our world,"** Kurama muttered; **"Besides, priorities first kit."**

True enough, as much as he was curious, he had to focus. Naruto spent a good two hours reading through what he needed to know. Thankfully no one really showed up during that time. Feeling he had enough to at least know who he was dealing with, the henged shinobi left the room. Making for the elevator, a sighed came from the former Anbu as the elevator descended. With no one else inside he henged back to Kenji.

 _'So your thoughts Kurama?'_

" **That we're barely scrapping the tip of the iceberg,"** the fox replied; **"A human organization as big and powerful as this one has lots of dirty secrets they bury in their closets"**

 _'Agreed'_ Naruto thought back. _'But I currently have no way of getting to that, or any idea of where to go first. Trying to go deeper will get Shinra's attention'_

Thus putting Aerith in more danger and the president could possibly decide upon to take stronger measures in trying to retrieve her. Tseng and Cissnei proved they were dangerous enough, but if the president were to decide on adding someone from the SOLDIER program to join with them.

 **"Protect the girl kit, that's it,"** Kurama stated in a serious tone. **"We stay off their line of sight and acted only when provoked."**

 _'Namely when the Turks decide to come knocking again,'_ Naruto grunted.

 **"Exactly, we don't knock on the devil's door unless you want to get an answer."**

XxX ~ one week later ~ XxX

Naruto watched with his arms crossed as he leaned over a fence at Aerith who continued to run lap after lap around her house and the garden. Before he could even start teaching her self-defense, the flower girl first needed to exercise and bring her body to shape. So for now they were just focusing on various workouts so she'd get stronger and faster with time.

He had explained to her the kind of exercises they'd be doing... Naruto had to answer questions such as 'A lap? You mean my lap or..?', and the like. Naruto hadn't bothered hiding his face-palm after that.

The blond had to wonder if this was how all his teachers had felt about him at some point.

As for today, the flower girl was huffing with exhaustion as she neared the thirtieth lap around the house. Presently she was wearing a simple sweatpants and a plain t-shirt, her hair wasn't done in her the usual style but in a ponytail. "H... How long do I have to do this?" Aerith wheezed out.

"Twenty more to go," Naruto said calmly as the brunette nearly tripped gawking at him. "We have to build up your stamina, followed by your strength."

The brunette only groaned but kept running. Naruto was actually surprised at not hearing many complaints from his friend/student. When he was a brat he remembered driving his sensei and instructors crazy. So either Aerith was taking this seriously or just too damn exhausted to complain.

He had to admit, after his infiltration mission of Shinra, for Aerith to come up to him and ask to for him to teach her was surprising.

Perhaps it had been his fight with the Turks, or the dangerous criminal activity of the slum sectors, or the fact that she FINALLY had someone willing to teach her that had motivated the girl to arm herself with the knowledge and the tools required to properly protect herself.

Of course, Naruto was pretty sure Aerith was doing this not to just look after herself but to take care of her mother in case something bad was to happen. He could tell she prioritized her mother's well being above her own. Aerith was a very kind girl, and he was more than happy to help her.

Even though they were yet to move into martial arts, he couldn't help but wonder how exactly he'd help her with her inborn abilities. Jutsu was out of the question, her biology was far different than his. The ninja's methodical techniques would simply not respond as she lacked chakra pathways and points. At best the most he'd be able to teacher her was how to gather and channel the energy inside her and focus it.

 _'I might be only able to train her in Taijutsu_ ,' Naruto mentally mused as Aerith circled around the flower bed.

 **"Better than nothing at all,"** Kurama bringing up his point. **"Since her former mate did not make an attempt."**

 _'From my guess, I don't think he even knew about her Cetra heritage. And she said this Zack guy took care of any monster or bandit dumb enough to fight him. He might not have seen any reason to.'_

Kurama snorted but went silent. "That's forty, just ten more to go."

"W...Was this... Ho... How you trained back home?" rounding the house the brunette asked as she passed him.

He suddenly was flooded with memories of all the crazy training regimes he had to follow, from exercising to cutting a waterfall. The particular memory of falling down a bottomless pit to summon a toad repeated itself on a loop on his mind. "Among a number of things..." He said and left it at that. "You should have met some of my other teachers. All of them were a bit touched in the head" Though Iruka-sensei was the exception. "At least be thankful I'm keeping your training within the boundaries of normalcy"

The flower girl rolled her eyes through the huffs and just kept running.

"Trust me, after this you'll be feeling great"

"I... highly... doubt that..."

Her lungs felt like they were on fire, her legs felt like jelly, and she swore she was slightly hallucinating upon seeing a Moogle sitting on the roof of her house waving at her. Sweet Gaia she never felt this exhausted!

But she was not going to complain.

"You can ask me if you can take a break you know"

"C-Can I..?"

"No" Naruto firmly replied.

"But you said-"

"I said you can ask me if you can take a break. I never said anything about actually giving you one" He clapped his hands twice. "Come on, just five more"

He had to bite back a laugh seeing the mildly cute glare from Aerith's emerald orbs. Finally after a few more laps, relief flooded Aerith being when her torturer... Pardon, her teacher yelled out 'time'! She felt like only her will had keep her going because as the moment he said that all the strength left and almost hit the ground till Naruto caught her.

"See, now was that hard?"

She really, REALLY wanted to smack him. But she was way too tired to care. Naruto gently sat her down, with him sitting beside her. The blond gave her a water bottle which literally vanished out of his hands and was being consumed by his friend greedily.

The water vanished within seconds, yet the gasping girl's thirst did not feel any more quenched. Naruto merely gave her another one, and sweatdropped while chuckling as she quickly downed the second bottle.

"Sooooo" Naruto tried not let his smirk be too smug. "You're feeling great huh? All pumped up and full of energy?"

Aerith's response was to fall backwards with her arms spread over the ground, too exhausted to even formulate a proper reply.

"Don't worry, you'll start feeling the burn soon enough"

The flower girl thought she already did. Gracious Gaia her legs were on fire right now...

Naruto heard Kurama snort after about five minutes Aerith finally spoke; "You said you met your two uncles, aunt, and cousins. What were they like?"

A fond smile formed on his lips; "Uncle Saito and Samenosuke are like night and day. Uncle Saito is a nonsense type of guy but could get him to joke occasionally. Uncle Samenosuke... I'll just say pervert and leave it at that."

"Aunt Lyn, oh boy" He let out a breath. "Don't think I've met someone who represents the sheer wildness of our clan as much as she did. And for my cousins, well, let's just say all of them were... unique in their own way"

"You miss them" Aerith said, it wasn't a question.

"Yeah... I do"

Naruto paused; "But have faith they'll be fine. Oh I know Karin probably wants to punch me right now, but she'll do good. I've got no regrets."

A smile came from the brunette watching her friend look up at the plate; "And despite everything, I like it here."

"No offense, but I doubt Gaia has given you a good first impression so far" Aerith reasoned. Ever since he arrived he had found himself in trouble after trouble... Some of them because of her.

"Hey, things weren't as good back home either. A lot of crap going on there too... But I like it so far because I was able to meet some great people. Like you and your mom"

Naruto tilted his head seeing Aerith looking away, he did not see the red dusting her cheeks.

XxX~ three days later ~ XxX

"You actually made a forge," Naruto openly asked sounding quite impressed.

Beside him was a tall burly bald, middle-aged man with a grizzled expression; "You can find pretty much anything in the slums if you know where to look," he said in an aged voice.

Occurring to the blond Uzumaki they he would have to stock up on supplies like kunai and shuriken. He told Aerith and Elmyra he was going to visit the weapon's merchant over in sector 7. When he met the man and started talking over weapons, the old guy stated ninja stuff was way too fancy to find down in the slums.

But the man offered an alternate. Thus he brought Naruto outside behind his shop, showing his forge. "Now as I said I'm getting to old to work this old thing, but I have idea."

"I work at your forge, make my own gear plus some things for your shop," Naruto quickly deduced.

"By your gear you look like one of those Wutai folk, and as I said that stuff isn't easy to come by around here. So you work on some of those little knifes and stars for me to sell, and we have a deal"

The blonde's eye twitched at his weapons being labeled 'little knives and stars'. But he supposed he shouldn't be complaining; there was nowhere else in Midgar where he could get decent ninja gear, nor a proper place to work on his own equipment. Plus, he doubted he'd find a deal as reasonable as this one if he were to find another place.

"Alright" He shook the much larger man's hand. "You've got a deal..." He paused, waiting for the man to properly introduce himself.

"Sheamus" He replied in a gruff voice.

Agreeing to come back in a few days to work Naruto left the shop. Taking a long deep sigh, the blond Uzumaki gazed over at the bar _7_ _th_ _heaven_. Passing by it at least a dozen times, finally curiosity had taken hold of him.

"Well, let's see what they got," he said out loud going up the steps of the bar. _'And a little whiskey never hurts.'_

As he opened the door he found the place to be, as was the case with most of the lower plates, a bit dark. The only source of illumination being the lights on the wall and the various neon signs. Had a bit of rustic feel to it, a wooden floor with two wooden tables and plenty of chairs around them and in front of the bar. Along with a pinball machine, something he saw once before in some places before around the nations.

Tending to said bar was a good looking woman with long dark brown with a dolphin tail end via some string. She had quite the 'assets', further brought to attention by the white tank top which showed off her midriff. She wore a short skirt with suspenders and a pair of black and red gloves which went all the way up to her elbows.

"Hey there" She said without looking up to him, busy cleaning a glass. "How can I help-?" When she did look up, she froze in place.

He saw her eyes were a darker shade of crimson than compared to Kurenai-Sensei's. He also noticed light tears edging around them as she soon leaped over her bar. She was quite fast as Naruto soon discovered as he found himself tackled to the ground by the young woman in a tight hug; "Cloud!"

 _'…Cloud...'_ Okay what was this Cloud's person parent's smoking and could he have some? While musing that he also took in account while this woman had a figure matching Konan, he also felt and saw the brunette's tone and definition in her arms, she was quite strong. _'And her bust matches Samui-San...,'_ He thought,his mind absently going left field.

Clearing his throat Naruto finally spoke; "Uh if this is how you greet new patrons, I'm sold."

His voice seemed to snap her out whatever emotions had surged inside her. Her eyes widened and she quickly pulled away, taking in the full appearance of the man before her. "You... You're not Cloud" She said with clear disappointment.

He couldn't help but snark dryly. "No. I am not water vapor in the sky"

"No, that's not-" She ran a hand over her face, throwing her head back and sighing. "Sorry I uh, I thought you were someone else"

"What, you know someone else with blonde spiky hair and blue eyes?"

"I do, actually" She replied.

"Oh..." He didn't have a comeback for that.

"The whiskers though" The dark haired woman said. "That's what tipped me off" She let out a playful chuckle. "Sorry about that hun, name's Tifa"

"Naruto," he said as he stood and helped the buxom brunette up; "awesome bar by the way."

Tifa beamed at that as she gestured him to follow; "Thank you, took a bit with me and a few friends getting this place fixed and usable." She rounds over back into the bar. "So what can I get ya?"

"Something that isn't polluted and doesn't kill you just for drinking it" Naruto says as he sits on a stool.

"Well, that's the difference between the water near the industrial sectors and alcohol, the alcohol at least kills you slowly" She replied with a smirk. "I have beer, whiskey, cider, vodka, ale. They're not the best quality, but at least we have variety"

Naruto points to the whiskey which Tifa gets the bottle and a shot glass; "I haven't seen you around before. Are you new here in Midgar?"

 _'Oh my sweet lady the look on your face if I truly answered that honestly,'_ the blond mentally smirked while earning a chuckle from his Bijuu partner. "You could say that, came all the way from Wutai."

A whistle came from the buxom brunette; "Quite a long trip." she filled his glass and slid it across the bar table to him.

"You have no idea," Naruto said cryptically as he took his drink.


	4. The gears turn

Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto or the Final Fantasy VII series

Co-author & Beta: Etheral-23

Prequel: The gears turn

The island breeze felt both calming and solemn for the lone figure sitting up at the hilltop of the isle of Uzushiogakure. Her long wavy crimson hair flowed equally with the grass around her, as a twenty-two year old Karin Uzumaki, wearing a plain blouse and shorts stared nearly blankly up at the skies above.

One year... It had been one year since the insane nukenin Sasuke Uchiha was finally killed. But it also had been a year when her cousin and adopted brother, Naruto Uzumaki had simply vanished off the face of the earth. By sea and land they had searched for him, but Naruto was nowhere to be found. The toads and dragons could not summon him, they couldn't even trace if he was alive or dead through the contract scrolls.

His friends had searched for him far and wide, never giving up on their friend like they knew he wouldn't have given up on them... but as time went on, reality mercilessly showed its ugly face; Naruto could not be found.

She had cried for him, they all did. The brave Uzumaki who had done everything for them, the ones he pulled out of the abyss, the ones he had given hope to. The one who had given her a family she once lost…

But, she couldn't let herself stay in mourning. If Naruto could have overcome Sakura's death; she could overcome losing her brother. And time kept moving forward, the now daimyo Maiyuri Sasaki had nearly achieved her dream of a unified Elemental Nation under the Land of Fire's banner.

There had been numerous and radical changes brought out by the young daimyo. Some ideas had been met with resistance while others had been widely accepted. The very long overdue dismantling of the obsolete shinobi system had been the most controversial.

The hidden villages were not making it easy; years of tradition cling too tightly to their mindset. The edicts dictating a greater oversight of the countries over their own ninja forces and the ban of employing children as soldiers were met with heavy resistance.

Thank the gods for Gaara and the Kages, after the chaos of the Fourth War and realizing what a system designed to feed on conflict was doing to their lands and people, they were able to placate most of those who spoke against the new reforms. Gaara swore to continue his friend's quest for peace, and would do anything as to not repeat the mistakes of the past.

Maiyuri's ambition for a new era of unification, peace and prosperity, Gaara's resolve to stop the pointless cycle they had created, and the support of many who shared their vision proved to be a powerful force which was taking the Elemental Nations by the storm... and for once, Karin could say it was for the better.

And this peace has done a world of good for the new Uzushio, a phoenix rising out of the ashes and growing more and more with uncle Saito as clan head. The Uzumaki Clan had literally returned from the grave, after the war; Karin, Naruto, and their adopted mother Tsunade Senju had left Konoha and came here. But for Karin it felt hollow in some ways.

Though while Karin worked as a nurse for both Konoha and Uzushio, Tsunade vocally stated she had enough of the Leaf Village for a lifetime. Since then she had become one of the head doctors of Uzu. Leaving Kakashi as the new Hokage.

 _'But even if things are moving in the right direction,'_ Karin thought to herself. _'Without you here it feels empty;'_ the spectacle wearing Uzumaki sighed; "What should I really be doing?"

"There you are!" A spirited feminine voice called out from behind the sitting Uzumaki.

The spectacle wearing redhead turned to see the cheerfully smiling face of the Seven-Tail's Jinchuuriki. The adult woman was wearing a more updated version of the outfit she wore when Karin had first met her. In their years of struggle, Fu had proved to be a great friend and ally who stood by their side till the end. She had not changed in the slightest, she was still the same fun loving woman with an outstanding love for life and that could dwarf even Naruto's.

Karin knew Fu had been there to comfort Naruto, as a lover, when the two felt the weight of the world on them. The dark skinned little toddler with a moss of blond hair and whisker marks on the cheeks was proof of that.

The last thing Naruto had left before vanishing from this world. Little Hiruzen Uzumaki.

Karin immediately went to coo over her little nephew. "Hey there~" She waved a hand at his still sleepy face. "You came to see me? Ohhh you know I love to see you~"

"Me too;" Fu asked with a large smile.

"Unfortunately, you come along with him;" Karin retorted in jest.

Fu pouted "So mean, Karin-chan~!"

It had been one hell of surprise, that's for damn sure. It was least a week or two after Naruto had vanished, Fu then learned she was pregnant. Knowing she was going to be a grandmother kept Tsunade going. Granted it did not help that the Senju woman hounded her daughter in about when she would have a kid of her own too.

Ugh, Karin was too busy at the hospitals even to bother in trying on dating.

The redhead giggled as Fu soon joined; "You were looking for me?"

"Wanted to see if you came with me and Hiru-Chan for lunch," the Nanabi Jinchurriki smirked tilting her head. "And you have been looking down."

"No I haven't," Karin's flimsy denial was met with a dry look from the young mother; "that bad?"

"Well, it's been nearly one year since he left right," The jinchuuriki said rhetorically. "Doesn't take a genius to know you've been sad lately"

Karin let out a soft breath, "Yeah, well" She said humorless smile. "I've never been good at hiding how I feel" She shook her head sardonically. "Some ninja I was..."

"To be fair" Fu tilted her head. "I think most of us were terrible at being ninja" She giggled. "Did you know I was actually shocked to hear how the shinobi of old were? Boy did we twist the meaning of 'ninja' with time"

The Uzumaki snorted, oh yeah the ninjas of today would have been the laughing stock to the Shinobi of old. Karin sighed; "I'd like to say I've been moving forward. But I haven't had I?"

"You've been, but it was more along the lines of just of dragging your feet," Oh yeah, the same blunt manner just like her brother. "But think you can start walking normally when you remember what you have in front of you."

"...And that is?"

"Your nephew, Hiru-Chan."

Suddenly, Fu was holding her child right on front of Karin's face. The Uzumaki had to back up a bit.

"You love Hiru-chan right?" The jinchuuriki says in a cutesy tone. "Cause Hiru-chan loves his Aunty Karin" The small baby yawned and sleepily rubbed an eye. The sight was so endearing it made Karin's heart melt.

Naruto had given her a home, a family, when she had been lost. Losing her mother in Kusa, being made a servant of Orochimaru. It had been one spectacular mess after another, that's how her life could be summed up.

With Naruto gone, she felt she had once more lost her home... But seeing Fu's smiling face urging her to move forward, the young promise of a hopeful future in Hiruzen's face, reminding her she had friends who cared for her, a place she belonged to. She wasn't as alone as she thought.

Gently taking her little nephew into her arms Little Hiruzen blinked those adorable orange eyes up at Karin. She gently stroked his tiny cheek; "I do have something to keep going."

XxX ~ Gaia: εγλ 0006 ~ XxX

The sound of the waterfall nearly drowned the whooshing sound of a wooden staff begin used in a swift manner. The user practiced various swipes and blunt strikes against an invisible opponent, shifting between different stances. Formerly clumsy hands that would once drop the blunt weapon (and often hit herself...) now wielded the item with dexterity one could only achieve through long hours of daily practice.

The long brown haired girl spun on her feet, twirling the staff behind her back to once more bring it in front of her with one strong downward swoop against the ground, spreading her legs and lowering herself as she did so.

Aerith had her hair in a simple ponytail, wearing a plain shirt and sweatpants repeats the movements. A full year, and now twenty-one, the flower girl of the slums could at least say she was in decent shape to protect herself.

"Your right foot needs to be in a little further..."

Her brunette brow twitched cutely as she adjusted her foot and glared over at her friend/sensei with the intensity of the depths of the netherworld. Sitting cross legged and wearing black sweats and a burnt orange muscle shirt, Naruto's glowing cerulean observed every action in her sessions. The man was a perfectionist when it comes to training.

Still, she had to say she had never felt this physically fit. And she used to think she was alright since she ate healthy. Now she felt like she could run a marathon. "I don't think a few inches make a difference..." The brunette replied, her breath getting a bit heavy from all the physical exertion.

"Maybe, maybe not… But do you really want to take that chance? Trust me, I learnt that having finesse and perfecting your technique is what will save you and let you win a fight"

The fox dryly replied **; "This coming from the guy who stabbed himself to get rid of the poison in his blood without realizing he could have died of blood loss. And then won a fight with a FART"**

 _'Yes I was an idiot,'_ He ignored the 'was?' from the fox; _'Least after the Chunin exams I got my head out of my ass.'_ And he really did after the Sandaime died, which was his wake up call to make himself into a proper Shinobi.

"Just be glad my uncle Saito knew more than sword training," And honestly he was not surprised when the time came for weapons and Aerith had picked the most non-lethal item there was.

And after a few times of Naruto trying not to laugh at his friend's attempts, she has gotten herself pretty far with the staff.

Finishing the last exercise, she took a deep breath and walked over to the twenty-two year old Uzumaki. She sat down cross-legged in front of him; "Too bad I can't do those Jutsu," she sharply glared at him hearing a snorted laugh; "I wasn't that bad..."

That only made Naruto snicker more. By the gods she had butchered those hand seals. Half of those attempts looked like some sort of new and rude hand-gesture.

"You can't do jutsu, but my training gave you a better control of your own body's energy" He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a spherical red materia, he throws it her and Aerith catches it easily. A vast improvement from when they would just hit her in the head or she'd just fumble with them in a bad juggling act, "Do a spell"

Try as he could, they just couldn't figure out a way for Aerith to do any of those so called 'Cetra magic'. Regardless of what Kurama told him over and over; **"How are you even gonna teach someone from a different race to use powers you don't understand?"** He was still sort of a knucklehead when it came to giving up. But sadly, Aerith couldn't progress beyond using Materia. The only one who could teach her proper magic was another Cetra, which was a problem for obvious reasons.

That is not to say Aerith was hopeless. Her control over Material was outstanding; she just molded it to her will to do as she wanted. Healing and elemental, and barrier spells to give others any sort of boost, she was simply a natural. Right now Naruto was sure Aerith's spells were near B rank in comparison with jutsu.

Nearly effortless fire gently covered Aerith's hand and forearm almost like a cloak; "it's like I'm not even trying. Why haven't you tried materia?"

"Uh why would when I can already use wind and fire in jutsu. And plus I worked my ass of learning and master both elements. I'm good," Not too say he did not try out a materia, but it wasn't much of his thing. And from his perspective it felt too easy for him given how much effort he worked in wind and fire elements.

"Lunch is almost ready," Elmyra's voice catching their attention as they saw the matriarch at the door; "Hungry?"

It was at that moment Aerith's stomach made the loudest bestial growl making the brunette blush wildly. Didn't help either Naruto laughing and she just knew Kurama was doing it to.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

As everyone settled at the table and began eating, the young sage idly glanced at the ladies. He had to say life was interesting here on Gaia after a year. Between living in the slums, with the eventual trips to Midgar's upper plates, he had gotten used to living in this much technologically advanced world. Yet somehow it was as different as it was similar to his old home. Between the thugs, the criminal underground, the monsters that managed to sneak into the city, various things he was used to dealing with back during his time as an ANBU.

Then there were the Turks again, no doubt the president got impatient, those guys just wouldn't give up. Well, it gave him the chance to fall back on old habits and have a laugh while keeping Aerith safe. Ahhh Shadow Clones were so fun to use, a couple of seals, some homemade harmless explosives and traps, all harmless of course. He didn't want to give them any reason to come down hard on them with a whole freaking army.

Oh the memory of that Reno guy having his face covered in paint when one of his clones exploded just brought a smile to his face. Laughter often came when he also remembered the guy flailing around blindly, shouting obscenities before tripping over a dumpster and falling into it.

And he was pretty sure everyone had those camera phones out when seeing Reno and Rude running for their lives as about thirty or was it fifty or so clones henged into giant burly bald men, dressed in drag chasing after them.

Naruto swore that was the first time Rude showed emotion of sheer terror. And the people on the sidewalks and in their cars literally stopped what they were doing, as they could not look away at that little scene, which went on for several blocks for an hour. He had to say Reno and Rude did have stamina where it counts.

But the one moment that would truly live on his heart was when a clone of his henged into a one of the many beautiful women he had met during the course of his life, flirted with Reno at a bar, played him like a fiddle until the two were making out and then he'd drop the henge and teased him.

Reno's face would go from shock, to horror, to a sick green in the impressively short span of a couple of seconds. Then he'd hurry to the bathroom and empty the contents of his stomach.

From that day forward, that redhead became his prime target for nearly every prank he had. Mostly due to the fact this guy's reactions were always priceless, and he did a double take seeing Cissnei of all people laughing at Reno hanging naked upside down via ninja wire and covered in glitter.

The poor guy would go crazy sometimes, screaming at the dark 'Why do you hate me so much?!', not knowing Naruto was most likely standing on the roof of some building watching the whole thing. A part of him wondered if he went too far, but another part (which suspiciously sounded a lot like Kurama) just urged to continue tormenting him for his own amusement.

Huh... maybe those years in the ANBU had left him a bit touched in the head.

" **You were touched in the head long before then,"** Kurama had retorted.

But life kept moving forward. Idly his glowing cerulean glanced to Aerith. That girl was interesting, that was for sure. She never lost her smile, or that warm outlook she always had. When they were home, Naruto found himself quite relaxed being around her.

Aerith's situation reminded him a bit of his own life, being hunted down for something she had no control over. While the Turks were infinitely more controlled than Akatsuki (granted, these were agents of the government while the latter were terrorist), he doubted the people who wanted Aerith for her heritage would be as kind to her. Who knew what kind of twisted experiments she'd be subjugated to?

Not everyone was an Orochimaru, but that was a chance he was not willing to take. He wouldn't let them take Aerith, she deserved a normal life. Then there were the few stories he had heard of this Professor Hojo when having his henged clones scouting and during his infiltration of Shinra. That bastard might actually be worse than the snake ever was. No way in hell was he letting that monster near her.

A soft giggle interrupted his thoughts as he turned his attention over to Elmyra who was only smirking at him knowingly. The elder Gainsborough did not have to say a single word as the tall blond blushed now noticing he had been staring too long at Aerith, thankfully the said brunette was unaware as she ate.

Her smirk only widened further while Naruto got back to eating his food.

The matriarch got up from the table to serve herself more of the stew. Her smiled only widened when she heard her daughter talking to the blonde, the conversation quickly turning into hearty laughter. There was just so much joy in Aerith's voice whenever Naruto was nearby, when the two conversed and spent time together.

She had been so sad when that good boy Zack disappeared. Aerith put a brave face but she could never hope to fool her mother. She had grieved for a long time and moved on, but her daughter would always hold a special place in her heart for the young SOLDIER.

A part of her, her motherly part, worried Naruto would bring Aerith more pain. Elmyra didn't want to see her daughter going through that again.

Naruto was a young man who carried his own burdens, secretive as he was about some parts of his life. But he had suffered; oh Elmyra knew very well the old memories of melancholy and pain that would sometimes be reflected in his eyes whenever he spent time by himself over on the gardens near the waterfall, lost on his own memories.

She only prayed both would not have their hearts burdened more with pain again. And secretly hoped one of them would realize what was forming between them. Ah, to young and dense.

XxX ~ one week later ~ XxX

Sheamus whistled as he held a newly forged kunai; "Do have to say kiddo you're a natural at smithing."

A snort came from the blond Uzumaki as he worked on a sword; "You should have told that to the hard ass who taught me. That bastard wouldn't even give me a smile or 'good work brat'." Naruto huffed as he worked at the hammer and anvil.

"The good black smiths are always the hardest to please."

Naruto gave him a teasing smirk. "So, that you like my work so much must mean you do a shitty job."

The bald man gave a dirty look. "Don't get smart with me boy" He grunted as he crossed his arms. "All you do are metal stars and knives, and with simple metals. You wouldn't even begin to know what to do with crystal, much less mythril"

"Crystal?" The blonde frowned in confusion. "Wouldn't a crystal weapon be... terrible?"

"Not if done by the right smith and the only one is in Mideel. That woman I hear is a savant of the forge. People asked how she can make those weapons, but said it was family secret she will keep to her grave," Sheamus made a long throaty noise at his words.

Naruto really could not believe or wrap his head around crystal swords. Yeah sure he remembers Guren but her weapons came from her Shoton. So how in the hell... Ah whatever, probably best he didn't know.

"Well," the bald man looks at his watch; "You've been at it since this morning, I say you're off for the day."

"Thanks" The shinobi nodded in gratitude before his hands and faced with a wet cloth. He gathers his things and bids farewell to the smith. It was time to go for a drink.

He smiled at the sight of the neon sign with the words '7th Heaven'; he's been coming often ever since he met Tifa. The brawler was fun to hang around with; she was upbeat and had a strong demeanor. Not to mention a mean right hook as their sparring matches had quickly taught him.

It had been an idle talk a year ago when Tifa first asked him about his fighting style; she got all excited when he said he was a shinobi. Saying she never fought one before and wanted to test it out, their occasional sparring had since then become a friendly relationship.

Coming inside the bar, the blond was greeted by a warm smile and a wave from the beautiful buxom brunette barkeep; "Hey, done working at Sheamus?"

"Yep," Naruto takes a seat at the bar; "So how goes the day for you?"

Already getting a glass of her friend's usual, she never even had to ask him anymore since he always had the same thing. The put down the glass was the open the bottle of whiskey; "Was busy earlier."

"Oh?" Naruto asked as she filled with glass.

"Eh" She shrugs. "Had to run some errands" The red eyed young woman said disinterestedly. "I won't bore you with the details"

The blonde merely accepted her answer and drank from his glass. He grunted as the whiskey burned down his throat. "You've got those armlets you wanted?"

"Nearly have enough for them" Tifa smiled cheerfully, she flexed a toned bicep and patted it with one hand. "Once I buy that beauty, these babies will punch like explosions"

Certain gear was enhanced with materia engraved on them granting the user several perks and abilities, such as enhanced strength and speed. His barkeep friend had been talking a lot lately about a pair of armlets that would increase her physical strength and harden the muscle mass for greater resistance against physical damage.

But in the young Sennin's honest opinion Tifa was already a bad ass. Whoever this master Zagan is taught his friend well. But eh, as the ninja code goes; 'if you're not cheating you're not trying.' "Heard some more news on those AVALANCHE folks," the blond brings up; he didn't notice the buxom brunette stiffen for a microsecond. "They're getting bolder."

"What do you think of them?" Tifa asked honestly. A part of her had been debating in telling him Naruto the truth about that and her being in with them.

"First I'd call them idiots," the former Anbu said bluntly.

Tifa looked at him wide eyed. "W-Why so?" She stuttered.

"You wanna save the planet? Fine… But getting people caught in the crossfire is not the way to do so in my book" The blonde grunted in disapproval as he downed the rest of his glass.

The buxom brunette repressed a wince, it was true that some of their operations had... more collateral damage than they would prefer, which was none at all. Not to mention the repercussions. But Shinra was an empire that ruled the world with an iron fist; they were the most powerful political and economic entity in Gaia. And their activates were slowly but surely killing the planet. There was no other way to achieve their goals of weakening Shinra's hold on the world other than to use brute force to disrupt their activities.

Tifa truly wished there was another way... but there just wasn't. She only hoped the heavens understood they are trying to do what is right, and stop the planet from dying. Her thoughts were interrupted as Naruto spoke again; "Fighting evil with evil, will only bring more evil. This can bring forth hate, and only more violence. And lose those you love most."

How hollow his eyes were when he said that, how soft and mourning his tone was. While the two became friends a year ago, he had been quite the mystery she had been trying to figure out. Tifa knew he lived in sector 5 slums, and since he came had been tearing through bandits and monsters down here.

She never got bored hanging out with Naruto, and he is handsome in a roguish way. But still doesn't know much about him. Nor why he always has his right arm and hand bandaged.

The brawler suspected he had gone through some rough stuff, she could feel it in the way he spoke and how he acted sometimes. Like he had lost something precious, Tifa knew very well that kind of pain, she was intimately familiar with loss. And she had seen it in other people like Barret. She was curious of course, but Tifa didn't feel she had truly earned the right to ask about his background if he didn't feel comfortable sharing. Tifa felt it was unfair of him, to ask him when she herself couldn't bring herself to share her own pain. So she respected their privacy, Naruto's, Barret's and others.

So she let it go, it was none of her business.

As the duo got in a quiet into a comfortable silence. The saloon door swing open violently as a young teen wearing a plain shirt and jeans looked around frantically; "Is Naruto here?!"

The said blond and brunette barkeep look over; "I'm here." the tall blond soon leaned back as the teen was inches in front of him.

"You got to come help us at the Train graveyard! Some weird monster showed up and it attacking everyone!"

"Calm down kid" The blond stood up from the stool, holding up a hand and trying to get the boy to settle down. "The train graveyard is always empty, how did you know a monster is there?"

"We were-!" The teen cut himself off as soon as he started talking; he fidgeted, looking around nervously.

"You were...?" Tifa prompted with a wave of her hand.

The boy finally sighed and slumped. "My friends and I smoke and drink there so our parents don't find out..."

Both brawler and shinobi gave the kid a deadpanning look. "Really man?" Naruto sighed. Oh, to be a dumb teen. Sometimes he missed it. But then he looked back at things and, well, he could have been smarter about some of his choices.

"Look, we were just chilling there when this... thing came out of nowhere! We were lucky we get away alive man..." The poor young boy was trembling; he had to take a seat at a nearby table.

"It's okay, calm down" Tifa gave him some water. "What did this monster look like?"

The young man slowly caught his breath as he moved his hands; "It looked weird. Front part looked like a horse, but the rear had wheels and attached to that looked like some kinda man from the waist up. But it only one red eye and it's face looked skull like. And there was this blade on top of the horse head."

Both blond and brunette give each other a look; "You ever heard of something like that?" the Uzumaki asked.

"No, always heard tales about the graveyard but never saw anything there but broken trains. Alright" Tifa nodded. "Naruto, you stay here and look after my bar" The brawler popped her knuckles as she made her way to the doors. "I'm gonna take care of this" She said in an assertive tone as she exited the saloon doors.

"Got it" Naruto nodded... before blinking in confusion. "Wait, what just happened?"

 **"The human with the big breasts just told you to watch over her stuff"** Kurama informed him. **"Why did you agree, though?"**

 _'I don't know...'_ Naruto mentally shrugs _. 'She just sounded so sure, couldn't help but agree with what she was saying...'_ He was used to being bossed around by assertive women.

" **So"** the fox drawled. **"You're just gonna stay here?"**

 _'Well I don't want her to get mad at me for not watching her bar'_

" **Kit"** Kurama snapped.

 _'Okay, okay, okay, I'll leave a clone. Jeeze...'_

The young teen boy nearly jumping out of his seat as a Kage Bunshin appeared. "Look after the bar and him," Naruto pointed to the teen as he ran off.

"Got it boss," the clone salutes. Hearing a thud he saw the teen had fainted off the chair and onto the floor; "Rough day huh buddy?"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Dashing past the train-stop, Tifa ran into the graveyard. Aptly named given the number of derelict engines and freight cars that littered the area. Going for higher ground, the buxom brunette used a ladder on one of the engines to stand on its roof. She froze seeing Naruto already standing there; "What kept you?"

"How the hell did you get here so fast;" The red eyed woman asked before remembering another more pressing matter. "Wait, you're supposed to be watching my bar"

Naruto choose not to answer her question on how he was technically still watching over it. "You realize going off to face a demon by yourself is a pretty dumb idea right?"

"What's dumber is me leaving my bar without anyone watching it, which is why I told you to look after it" She once more accused with an angry tone and crossed arms.

The blonde sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, the bar is okay. But trust me when I tell it's safer to face a demon when you're with a group"

Now standing beside him, Tifa was about to retort till the words Naruto said got her attention; "Demon... Why are you calling this monster a demon?"

Naruto surveyed the area for a minute before talking; "you can't feel it? The air around this place is usually calm. Close your eyes and just feel your surrounds."

Blinking for a moment, the beautiful brawler did as her friend asked. Steadying her breathing, a light breeze soon passed over her. Her brow narrowed as she felt something... Something out of place.

Kurama let out a light throaty growl; **"It's clever, but it can't hide its blood lust."**

 _'It feels like it's everywhere,'_ Naruto noticed Tifa opening her eyes.

"What... Is this..."

"Killing intent" Naruto explained. "Bloodlust and desire to kill so strong it's projected outwardly to the point other people can feel it" He turns to her. "You must have felt it before, against bandits or monsters. When you felt threatened, felt how they wanted to hurt you"

"Y-Yeah" The brawler nodded stiffly, looking over the rows of old trains. "But it felt like I perceived it with my instincts. This thing..." She struggled to find the right words. "It's like... being under water, it weighs you down, makes you feel..."

"Like you're suffocating" Naruto finished for her, he knew firsthand the killer instinct of some of the worst killers he encountered throughout his life. Zabuza, Orochimaru, Pein, Madara, each brought their own flavor of terror. Though none of them could compare with the sheer force of destruction that was the Jyuubi, Kaguya's bestial form, that thing acted on the instinct of destroying everything in its path.

Demons were like that, many of them existed solely for the purpose to destroy. And this demon was just... filled with so much rage.

 **"It makes you think"** Kurama mused to himself. **"Usually demons are born from their world, they are manifestation of the planet's pain and anger... You've tried meditating and using senjutsu outside Aerith's home. The mako reactors suck out the life from nature and reduce it to a husk"**

It made Naruto feel sick; when his senses reached out to feel the world around it he barely felt whispers of natural energy. It was pretty much impossible for him to use senjutsu in Midgar; there just wasn't nature energy to draw.

 **"The planet is suffering, boy;"** The fox gravely said. **"And in retaliation to protect itself, it will spawn hordes of monsters and demons to destroy what's hurting it"**

 _'In other words...'_ Naruto realized with dread. _'Things like this one are born just to kill humans'_

As a sage, the mako reactors were an abomination against nature by stealing its very life force and twisting from its original design. He did not fault the planet for being understandably angry for this. _'But the planet knows not every human is at fault for this right?'_

 **"Does a canine or feline care for the fleas causing it discomfort on its skin,"** Kurama rhetorically retorts back. **"Those reactors have been causing this planet tremendous amount pain. This demon and no doubt others are the action of blind absolute rage."**

Naruto's knuckles popped as he clenched his fists; "We have to stop this demon here before anyone is harmed."

"I'm all for that," Tifa offers as she gazed out at the broken trains; "But where do we start looking for this thing? The malice coming off it is making it hard to track." Especially since she could feel it all over the area and not centered in one place.

 **"This will be tricky kit,"** Kurama warned his friend; **"You can't use Senjutsu in Midgar and no doubt using too much of my power might attract unwanted attention. Never mind explaining to chesty here about me."**

Ignoring the label Kurama had given Tifa, Naruto pondered for a moment to think what would be the best course of action. Perhaps they could try to corner it in between a couple of the abandoned trains.

"Yikes" The brawler exclaimed. "That one wasn't like that before" She pointed at a particular freight car. Naruto recognized it as a somewhat intact train where they would often spar over it. Only now it had been completely flipped over and torn in half, jagged plates of metal had been rend apart as if something had burst from one side and gone out the other.

...Alright, perhaps cornering the demon wasn't possible if it could cleave through metal like paper. The trains wouldn't give them any advantage with the exception of hiding from its sight, assuming the rest of its senses weren't strong enough to pick up their presence.

"We're going to have to fight this thing carefully," Naruto groaned as he took a deep breath. They were going to have to get crafty fighting and maybe Naruto might not have to use a lot or any of his partner's chakra.

While Tifa might be a good friend, he has not confiding in her about how he really came to Gaia. He trusted her, but not at the point explaining some deity tossed him into their reality. He just was not at that level of openness just yet with the busty bar owner.

 **"You still want to sleep with her though,"** Kurama pointed out.

Naruto had to muster all of his will not to make a physical reaction to the old fox's offhanded comment; _'Not helping furball!'_

 **"It's called stress relief with humor brat."**

...Well, least it was better than most if not all of Kurama's normal jokes. Gods he had a morbid sense of humor.

The two walked over the abandoned freight car, keeping their eyes open for any movement. At least from atop the metal contraptions they had a better vantage point to spot the creature. And given the damage that thing was capable of it had to be of great size, so finding it wouldn't be difficult.

Despite the size of the graveyard, there was no way something like the demon that had been causing trouble would be able to stay hidden.

Naruto's trained ears perked up as her heard something. "Listen" He held up his hand, stopping Tifa in her tracks.

They heard a metallic screech on the distance, the sound of metal tearing and twisting. It was getting louder, closer.

Around sixty meters from their position they could see various abandoned cars moving, toppling over as something tore through them with great force and speed. The sound of the metal being trashed couldn't hide the sound of... hooves?

Then they heard the neigh of a horse, along with an unnatural roar.

Both the ninja and the brawler shared a look. Just what was that thing that could make those sounds?

They didn't have to ponder for long, as closer train cars which stood close to small cleared section was pierced through by the creature.

"...Okay," Naruto muttered; "That is one fucked up looking demon."

Like the young teen had told them, the front part it's body is a horse with a bladed helmet on its head. But horse part stopped half-way and what started was a metallic serrated back with old carriage-like wheels. But what got their attention was the humanoid figure donning a sort of plate-like armor and helmet.

Both saw a black skull with a single glowing red eye glaring with both anger and hate in their direction. It let out a loud guttural roar which sent a wave of killer intent flooding the area.

The horse neighed, its blade-horn shining brightly as it swiftly charged at them.

"Shit, move!"

Naruto and Tifa jumped over the beast as it cleaved through the engine they stood on like a hot knife through butter. They landed on the ground and watched as the creature stopped and drifted to face them what's more.

"Think I heard about this thing" Tifa grunted as she adjusted her gloves. "It's an Eligor. It can go fast and has a really, really bad temper"

 _'Gee, ya think,_ ' Naruto mentally retorts as Eligor turns itself back to its prey; "Anything else about this guy?"

"Uh...," Her red eyes widen as the single eye of the Eligor began to glow; "Get down!" She grabbed her blond friend by the arm as a beam of light fired slicing through several freight cars. Lifting their heads, both blink as they look behind them seeing the top half of the car sliding off; "How about that?"

 **"Seen a few demons who could do that,"** Kurama growled in annoyance.

The Eligor roared once more, and its steed half charged on a warpath. It was outstanding how fast the beast went from being stopped to being on a high speed charge. They barely had time to react its wheel let out sparks as it stopped to perform a devastating doughnut on them. They thought they had managed to move back just in time, only for its arm to swing at them, painfully sending both against severed train behind them.

They collided with such force their impact made dents on the metal. They landed on their knees, and groaned with effort as they stood up.

"That thing shouldn't be able to move so fast..." The blonde ninja growled in a mixture of pain and irritation.

Tifa rolled his neck, popping the bones as she grunted. "I say we take out the horsy first"

 _'Did she really just say horsy,'_ the young Sennin groaned as he pulled out a scroll, unfurling it he summoned his katana. Unsheathing the blade, he threw the scabbard aside. Glancing to his friend, he saw Tifa taking stance. He put his scroll back into his pocket.

"Let's go motherfucker," Naruto roared.

He jumped with great dexterity at the beast. The horse's bladed head parried his strike while the large clawed hand of the upper body swung at him. Naruto stood over the horse's body, deflecting the demon's sharp claws. Then the horse neighed violent as it trashed, making him lose his footing.

Tifa charged in, one fist raised high as she got close to the horse. But the beast's trashing made it difficult to get a clear shot at its head.

The Eligor began spinning in place at such speed that Naruto was sent flying away, he managed to regain his balance and land on top of another train. Tifa waited for the beast to stop its movement and jumped when she saw her chance, driving a strong left hook at the horse head. The horse roared painfully but swatted her away with a kick from its hooves.

She landed in front of the wagon Naruto was standing on. The horse appeared stunned, but the demon's eye glared at her with rage. It began shining more and more when suddenly a highly concentrated beam was shot.

Tifa gasped, she could barely move to escape the beam. A blur of movement in front of her later, and Naruto was standing between her and the attack, deflecting the beam with his sword. He grunted as he was pushed back, praying his blade would hold on, it wasn't meant to resist this kind of damage, even with the seals reinforcing it.

He tried to reflect the beam right back at the demon, and managed to get the ray of pure energy to scorch over the ground up to the horse's feet. It managed to hit the beast's right hoof, causing its flesh to be burnt horrible. The Eligor threw its head back, roaring in agony as it stopped his attack. The horse roared as well, trying to support itself with only one leg as the other was too wounded.

Naruto sighed with relief as the pressure of the beam was gone. He looked back at Tifa to see if she was okay; the brawler only stared at his hand.

Confused as to what she was looking at, he held up his blade to inspect the weapon... and found himself with a broken hilt, as the metal had melted and the rest of the blade had fallen off.

"Oh son of a..."

Oh Saito-Otooji would tan his hide if he saw this. Ugh, never mind reforging, he'd just have to make a new one. Throwing the broken sword aside, Naruto growled as he went into several quick hand seals; "Hope you like fire!"

The shinobi inhaled deeply, channeling chakra from his midsection to his mouth while molding it into a raging violent force. Fire bloomed from his lips in torrents, forming a great fireball which engulfed the demon with hungry flames.

He had expected to hear cries from the monster, instead the creature seemed to trash even less than it did when its hoof had been wounded by its own attack. The ground shook with the sudden stomp from the horse, creating a shockwave of wind which cleared the flames.

To the shock of the blonde and the brawler; the horse's head blade was alight with flames, as well as its hooves. The demon's metallic plates shined with heat, and its claws burned with a hot white color. The wheels at the side of the demon were now on fire, the ground scorched underneath them.

"Well, what do you know" Tifa deadpanned. "It does like fire..."

 _'How the hell was I supposed to know it was keen to fire,_ ' Naruto mentally grumbled while he heard Kurama snort. "You got any ideas hun?"

"How about not using flame spells?" The buxom brunette commented dryly.

"...Dutifully noted smart ass..."

The Eligor roared and the air itself seemed to ripple with shockwaves. Naruto and Tifa had to shield their faces from the strong blast of wind.

The chariot monstrosity charged, leaving a trail of flames on its path. The horse's head-blade seeking to impaled them. Shinobi and Brawler leaped out of the way, the wagon behind them was cleaved in half perfectly as the head-blade somehow cut the metal with sheer energy without coming close to the other parts of the wagon.

The demon swatted away the pieces of the train like toys before coming to a halt and drifting to once more stare at the prey. Naruto and Tifa charged right at the beast, jumping to meet it head on.

With a blindingly fast movement of its arms, white-hot claws pierced their chests, making their bodies go limp. The demon didn't have time to relish in satisfaction at the feeling of another prey felling at its claws, for it was startled when their bodies suddenly burst into smoke so dense it couldn't see anything.

Tifa choose that moment to charge in, Naruto's... clone things (ninja stuff, she wasn't going to question it much) had provided a great distraction. She clenched her right fist, channeling the energies of the special materia-engraved leather through her limb. Her arm muscles flexed and rippled. The brawler growled through gnashing teeth as she poured all her ferocity into this strike.

Her fist connected with the horse head, the force of the impact so great it created a shockwave that cleared the smoke. Bones shattered under her blow as the horse's neck twisted horrifically to the side, tendons and muscles tore, and the spine snapped and burst from underneath the skin.

The horse part fell to the ground, dead, and the rest of the Eligor roared in agony, trashing about as half of its body no longer responded.

"Now!" Tifa called out.

Naruto jumped from over the wagons, a shining blue Rasengan charging on his hand. On a last moment of defiance, the Erigor snapped its gaze at him and fire its eye-beam. Beam and orb classed in a shower of energy, but Naruto pushed through from the air, reaching closer and closer to the demon's head.

The Eligor roared, either in rage or fear, as the Rasengan now stood mere centimeters from its face, his eye-beam pushing with everything it had. Naruto growled and with one burst of chakra, his attack burst through the beam and collided with the monster's head.

The Rasengan tore its heads to pieces, and all that remained was a headless slumping corpse. The only thing that held it up was the fallen horse body and its chariot wheels.

Both soon sighed in relief as they saw the demon began to turn into ashes and vanish. Tifa slumped down onto her knees while Naruto sat cross legged beside her; "Okay that was fun," he groaned as he turned his eyes to his friend; "And you are a bad ass."

Tifa lightly blushed; "Thanks."

"For future reference I'll be keeping an eye on the graveyard for now on," Naruto popped his neck as he looked at the destruction from the Eligor. _'Aerith will freak out hearing about this'_

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Naruto sighed in relaxation as he lay on his back on Aerith's and Elmyra's garden, in a shirt and sweat pants, pretty much the only place he could feel any semblance of natural energy in this metal-clad city. It was a personal place of comfort for him.

Fighting the demon had been tough, more so when not using some of his greater arsenal like Senjutsu or Kurama's chakra, but he'd rather not get to reliant on them. He found overreliance to special powers instead of honing his skills and mind to be incredibly detrimental; he sometimes hated the fact that it took the Sage of Six Paths to give him and Sasuke a power-up to defeat Kaguya. Granted, the mad woman was beyond their scope to defeat, but he wondered if perhaps they had been more skilled or smarter they could have still defeated her. Made him feel he had become too reliant on others' powers. Anyone could be defeated with the right tools and strategy. Regardless, he should be glad the mad goddess was defeated without any permanent damage being done to their world.

 **"Hmm..."** Kurama hummed in thought, his tone had a certain discomfort. Perhaps brought on by his own thoughts and memories about Kaguya; **"Stealing the worlds' lifeforce... much like the Shinju once did"**

 _'Something bothering you, buddy?'_

 **"With Shinra draining the planet's lifeforce via those Mako reactors of theirs. And the planet's spawning those demons as its defense. Who is to say the variety those demons is more exotic..."**

Well that was a cryptic response. Crossing his arms behind his head the blond sennin let those words settle in his thoughts for several minutes before slowly his cerulean orbs widen in a chilling level of dread crawls up his spine as he was praying his friend was not alluding to. _'You don't think the planet made beings like the Bijuu?'_

Kurama narrowed his eyes; **"I wouldn't outright rule it out. If the planet is as angry as I believe it is kit, who knows what is out there?"**

Naruto picked up something in his tone. _'Are you... worried?_ ' Kurama hardly worried about anything.

 **"Let me paint you this picture, boy"** The fox began. **"I was not spawned from our world, I am pure natural power hijacked by a parasitic tree that came out from space. My essence comes from the power absorbed by Kaguya, and given thought and shape by the old man sage. My power is not even a fraction of all the energy an entire world has. You follow me?"**

 _'Yeah...'_ The blonde slowly nodded, curious to where his partner was going with this.

 **"My birth was not an act of the planet; I was not supplied power by it directly. Only given a portion, a big portion granted, of the power the Jyuubi had. Now"** Kurama suddenly got serious. **"Imagine Mother Nature, as everyone knows a woman, a mother, is... temperamental. And Mother Nature is nothing if not grumpy. What with earthquakes, tornados, all the fun stuff. So now picture a mother nature so royally pissed at her 'children', they are slowly killing her and stripping her bare of her capacity to support life. She's running out of options and her mood is worse than an Uzumaki woman on her period-"**

Naruto shivered with dread at the thought.

 **"So she spawns these 'defense mechanisms', she creates droves and droves of monsters and demons. Beings so full of bloodlust they want nothing more that they want to destroy those who are harming the planet. Humanity"** Kurama says with a touch of theatric drama. **"They are varied; each has their strength and weaknesses... But imagine the world pouring titanic amounts of energy into one of these creations. So much their power far outclasses any other monster and become a league of its own. What I'm trying to say kid, is that the planet has more than enough power to spare to willingly give birth to multiple existences on the level of Biju... Perhaps even the Jūbi"**

Oh by all the gods above he prayed the planet did not create a Jūbi. Or hell something at Kurama's level of power. Those two thoughts alone were beyond terrifying in any words he could ever vocalize. _'If we ever leave Midgar we will have to pay close attention to everything won't we?'_

 **"Better than getting killed,"** Kurama huffed.

A shadow soon loomed over the blond Uzumaki as his cerulean saw Aerith. Wearing her pink button dress, minus the coat, with her arms behind her back leaning forward and looking down at him; "You know; normal people usually rest in a bed after facing a powerful monster."

"Good thing I'm not normal," he smirked while she pouted cutely. "I'll be fine, not my first scrap dealing with a demon, I'm just pissed I have to make a new sword."

Now that earned him a dry expression from the brunette's emeralds; "Seriously..."

"My uncle Saito had that sword made for me. He'd kick my ass seeing how it was turned into a scrap of tin."

"Maybe next time you'll take better care of it;" The young woman quipped humorously.

The blond shinobi grunted; "Wasn't my fault..."

 **"Course not;"** The fox deadpanned **. "You just wanted to act cool and deflect a high intensity demon laser with it. You couldn't have foreseen that backfiring in any way"**

 _'Oh shut up you'_

"On the bright side Mr. Sheamus has plenty of metal to help make a new one," Aerith shrugged trying to think positive. "Maybe you'll take better care of this one" the brunette smirked teasingly.

"Are you giving me a reason to prank you?" Naruto eye twitched as he looked up at his friend.

XxX ~ four months later ~ XxX

With huffed breaths and fast steps, the wild red haired Turk darted through an alley. The building's colorless grey steel was tall enough that not a ray of sunlight shined through. He jumped over fallen dumpsters and made quick turns at the corners, Reno gave it his all to keep the pace with his target.

As he turned on the last corner, he saw the end of the alley leading to the street. A silhouette was making its way towards it, into the pedestrian filled streets. They couldn't let him be lost among the crowd or then he'd disappear completely.

"This is Reno," He spoke with a hand on his ear, communicating through his radio; "Target's entering market district 4, Eighth Avenue!"

" _I see him_ ," Emma's voice rang in his comm; " _Engaging pursuit_."

The lazy redhead of the Turks winced as his ear comm made a loud feedback sound. "What the hell was that?!"

" _...Trap,_ " the wheezing voice of the blond Turk responded; " _how did he set that up so quickly?_ "

 _'Least it's not on me for once,'_ Reno mentally mused as he kept running.

Dashing through sidewalks and back alleys, Naruto rushed passed pedestrians almost like a blur. He did have to give the Turks credit they brought their runners this time. While he had no clue on the blond Turk woman, he knew Cissnei was leading this bunch. And the petite redhead has been on his case whenever she took the mission to either come for him or Aerith.

Honestly you flirt one time with a woman and she wants to kick your ass. That seemed to be the main theme with most the women in his life...

Not missing the awareness of the people around him, the blond Uzumaki leap over several people just as Rude was going to strike at him. Front flipping and landing to his feet, Naruto kept going as he waved back; "Sup Shades!"

The bald Turk grunted and continued on the pursuit. Passing by a cafe, Naruto snatched a wet napkin from an empty table and dropped it to the ground. He didn't turn to look if it would work; he just hoped his luck would hold.

"Shi-," Hearing the sound of someone slipping and colliding with the cement walk in painful fashion was enough to make him laugh. He honestly didn't think that would work. But alas, the best pranks were sometimes the simpler ones.

Reno managed to catch up to his partner. "Come on pal" And helped him stand up by pulling his hand. Rude walked off the pain on his back and readjusted his shades, once more sprinting off to apprehend their target.

Naruto for his part turned on a corner to the left, the street filled with various clothes shop and the like. Windows which displayed mannequins with the latest fashions, purses, jewelry and more.

His instincts screamed danger, the sound of air being cut by a flying object reached his ears. He ducked as a large shuriken of particular designed sliced the head of a mannequin standing on the street.

The weapon soared though the air, returning once more to its wielder. Naruto's gaze shifted between the severed head of the dummy and the red haired young woman. "That's gonna get cut down from your pay I bet"

"How bout I cut something off of you and we call it even?" the way Cissnei said it just gave the young Sennin a shiver down his spine.

"Uh no thanks cutie," thus resuming his running, now with various dodging from Cissnei's shuriken while she ran after him. Damn the little lady was a bad ass. "WHOA," Naruto leaping over the red shuriken as it nearly sliced him between his legs.

"I said 'No'!" He shouted, as the shuriken returned to her hands. "Take a hint!" The shinobi took on a fighting stance, looking ready for a bout. People standing on the streets slowly back away from the two dangerous individuals, feeling the tension rising to dangerous levels.

Cissnei followed suit, making sure to channel the materia in her clothes. The ninja was highly skilled and filled of dangerous surprises and tricks matched by his clever mind and tactics; she couldn't take any chances with-

"By the Gods, what's that?!" He pointed behind her alarmed.

The Turk turned in response, her eyes carefully scanned the surroundings, trying to find what had the shinobi so alarmed... then she realized the stupid mistake she made, and immediately turned back with an angry scowl on her features.

He ran away... That bore repeating, he ran away. The suddenness and stupidity of it all just let the Turk in a state of temporal stupor.

Cissnei then realized he had once again played her a fool, and with the cheapest and most childish of tricks. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, feeling ashamed with her own incompetence.

"I. Will. Kill. This. BASTARD," the petite redhead seethed as she dashed like the wind for the blond. Be damned if Hojo wants this guy for his experiments, she was going to get her pound of flesh!

Pedestrians gave the angry young woman a wide berth as they swore they saw fire in her eyes. In her rage however she did not notice Naruto sitting at a cafe table reading a paper as she barreled by. Slowly a very vulpine like smirk formed on his lips.

A high pitched squeak made him lower the paper as he saw Cissnei had fell in his trap. The sound of her shuriken dropping onto the cement ground while the beautiful petite redhead was hanging upside down via ninja wire. This also triggered a bucket of water being dumped all over her. Well not really water given it was dissolving the redheads clothing. But at least the former Anbu could say its non-toxic to humans.

 _'Maybe that was too much,'_ Thought for a moment of sympathy.

 **"Nah,"** Kurama responded cackled evilly.

"Huh" The original Naruto muttered to himself as he saw part of her clothing, namely her shoes, gloves, underwear and bra remained intact. "Weird those are still intact" He mused, unbothered by the mortified squeaking of the tied up woman and the flashes of cameras and cellphones.

" **Must be materia infused"** The fox noted. **"It's handy, I'll give it that"**

Naruto looked over from his perch at the corner of the street. "And there comes the other stooges..."

Reno and Rude arrived at the scene, "Cissnei!" The redhead shouted. "Did you run into-WWWWOAH!" The Turk exclaimed as he noticed the current state of undress his superior was suffering from, and could not help but grinned goofily at the sight. Rude merely rubbed his nose and muttered something along the lines of 'He was here alright...'

 _'That ugly ass suit really does hide that cute wineglass figure. Hmm, 30C, not too big not too small, fits her body,'_ the blond Uzumaki paused before face palming; _'Damn you Ero-Sennin!'_

Kurama only rolled his eyes while his partner saw another clone being chased by that blond woman, Em… something or other; **"Honestly kit you could remember her name. You don't forget that little redhead's. She has been chasing you and Aerith for a year with the other stooges."**

 _'Eh'_ He scratched his hair _. 'She's a bit too serious. Ain't seeing anything interesting about that one. You meet one like them, you've met them all'_ the only reason he bothered to remember Rude's name was because the guy wasn't as serious as initial appearances suggested... and because Itachi's voice coming from that guy creeped him out so much...

 **"She shot you once with those 'guns'"** Kurama pointed out. **"And it hurt you like hell, I think you'd remember that"**

 _'I do...'_ That was a huge eye opener on the whole 'guns' thing. _'But even when she did it she was boring...'_

It also came to Naruto's attention that the Turks weren't just after Aerith, but also him as well. No doubt something that lunatic professor Hojo's order. Ugh, just what he needed again, Orochimaru and Kabuto were bad enough till he, Fu, and Octopops killed them.

If this nut job wanted to give him more reasons to kill him besides whatever the experiments he did to Aerith and her biological mother, he'd gladly send Hojo to hell gift wrapped for the Shinigami.

His darker thoughts are interrupted as he heard a gunshot; _'Oh goodie blondie brought her toys.'_

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

While Rude was in the process of untying Cissnei, Reno had his hand on his earpiece. "We heard gunshots, what's going on?"

Emma was quick to reply. _"I'm following the target on Mindoir Street; he's going into the alley."_

The goggles wearing Turk pauses, confusing written on his face. "But... Mindoir is on the opposite end of the street, we just had contact with him around here" How did he get there so quickly?

Cissnei, fueled by rage and humiliation, clenched her teeth as she covered herself with Rude's coat. "He's using his copies..." She replied, having heard the conversation. "He's playing us for fools again..." Time after time that ninja had made a mockery out of the office. Already it was bringing great displeasure to president Shinra.

"You're gonna need clothes" The bald Turk said.

"Says you..." Reno muttered to himself, he gulped when he saw Cissnei's murderous glare.

Rude immediately entered the clothing store, he stood before the stupefied clerk, who had taken cover behind the counter ever since the whole mess started. "Turks" The operative announced, brandishing his badge. "I'm requisitioning your wares" His tone left not room for arguments

Before most could blink, and much to Reno's disappointment. Cissnei now wore sweat pants with a shirt with a Chocobo being ridden by a moogle. Her red brow twitched as she and the others heard rousing laughter on the other side of the street. The trio saw the blond menace pointing at the Cissnei; "Now you do look adorable Dattebayo!"

She could not have gotten her Rekka fast enough as she was about to throw it at the jerk till seeing he was gone in a puff of smoke. Reno and Rude both wisely stepped back as their seething commander stomped off to Emma's location.

No longer from earshot, Reno pulled out his phone grinned perversely. Rude only sighed as he shook his head; "She'll kill you if she sees that."

"'If," He stressed silently. "Keyword"

Cissnei sighed to herself, swallowing the shame she felt. She put her hand on her ear and contacted the other Turk. "Emma, is the target you're following the real one?"

" _I'll find out once when a bullet hits"_

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The said markswoman eye twitched seeing her target deftly avoid another bullet sent his way; "Not on your 'A' game huh blondie!"

Naruto turned a corner missing several more rounds sent his way; "Still missed!"

The shinobi turned his head in time to see the Turk pull out a pair of guns with large magazines from her outfit. Oh he had had previous experience with those types of weapons before... "Oh crap"

Swiftly looking for a good place to hide, Naruto didn't have to think about twice.

A middle aged man was carefully arranging various ceramic pots outside his shop, neatly putting them on display to catch the eyes of potential customers. He took great pride in his shop after all, and was certain these pieces, despite being of lower quality and material (he wasn't going to put his best stuff on display) would certainly do the trick.

Then he saw a blonde man jumping through the window and into his shop, breaking the glass to hundreds of little pieces and knocking aside various pieces of expensive pottery which fell to the ground in tatters.

And THEN another blonde, a woman this time, proceeded to shoot into the store with a pair of semi-automatics. Bullets flew in blurring darts of light as empty casing fell to the ground by the dozens. The bullets flew with poor accuracy but compensated with their overwhelming high number.

The sound of gunfire couldn't hide the sound of ceramic being destroyed upon impact by the bullets. Works of art of such delicate make fell to the ground as broken pieces of rubble.

Thirty years of honest hard work turned to rubble... all his pots he either handmade or bought shattering to pieces via a hail of gunfire. The small shop he purchased, being turned to kindling.

Having taken cover behind the cashiers table Naruto stays lower as several bullets pierced through his cover. _'I hate guns...'_

 **"Just imagine those little toys back home,"** Kurama pointed out.

 _'Trust me I have furball, and we know the outcome,'_ it would be a damn bloodbath if some warlord or to bit thug with a chip on his shoulder got their hands on a gun. "Okay this is getting annoying..."

 **"Let me ask you;"** The fox began. **"Why are you tacking cover?"**

 _'Oh, I don't know'_ He sarcastically replied. _'Maybe me not wanting to get hit by little projectiles that travel half as fast the speed of sound may have something to do with it'_ Bullets were NOT easy to dodge unless you moved as fast as you could, anticipating them and reacting fast enough.

 **"But why;"** The fox asked in confusion. **"You're just a clone; you'll just be gone in a 'poof'"**

 _'...That hurts my feelings'_

The blond clone blinked as the shooting had finally stopped; _'okay either out of bullets or she is getting crafty_.' He paused on that thought before giving a dry look; "Right, forgot who I'm dealing with."

The clip from her Uzi hit the ground as Emma re-loads a new magazine. Walking passed the catatonic shop keeper, she slips a card into his free hand; "Turks business..."

Walking through the broken window the blond female scanned the area with her weapon at the ready. Nearing the cashiers table she swung around ready to fire, only to find no one but a door to the back open. "Tsk..."

The shop keeper slowly blinked as his mind restarted now seeing his shop in ruins. "I fucking hate blonds..."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Running out of the shops backdoor and into an alley, Emma briefly saw the red coat from the ninja always wears turned a corner. Quickly on pursuit and turned the corner only to shriek as she fell into a hole in the ground.

She painfully stood up, pain spreading through her limbs as she rubbed her neck. "When the hell did he get time to dig this?" It was at least 9 feet deep and... Covered in some sort of slime, she tried climbing it but she only slipped.

"Well when you put enough effort into your pranks" The ninja's voice came, and her guns were already on her hands aiming outside the hole, but he was nowhere in sight. Smartly staying out of her barrels' sight; "You find ways"

"Oh yeah, by the way; Watch your clothes," Naruto whistled the tune 'twisted nerve' as Emma heard the whistling vanish.

Blinking with confusion at his words, Emma's sapphire eyes soon widen as her Turks suit began to disintegrate till she only in her panties and bra. Looking down from the roof, the real Naruto smirked upon hearing a high pitch shriek that echoed throughout the area. "Seriously, she has a killer figure like that, and hides it in that ugly ass suit." Eh, Cissnei was cuter. "Call it a day partner?"

Kurama chuckled evilly.

XxX ~ Gaia: εγλ 0008 ~ XxX

His vision blurred as the noise echoed in his head, each sound felt like the painful banging of drums on his ears. He saw figures, soldiers, and a man in a lab coat

"This one here... intriguing, most intriguing!" That voice... "He'll make a fine test subject!" The man, the doctor, he was... standing in front of someone unconscious.

He couldn't see very well, only a familiar uniform, and stands of spiky blonde hair.

Darkness overcame him.

There was silence, only silence and blackness.

"You call yourself SOLDIER?"

The words were accompanied with a blur of white. A feather…

Then came a wing, it looked like an angel's wing, but he knew it wasn't.

The wings came from a man, a figure he knew all too well. Long dark hair, a stubble chin, fierce eyes. A great blade on his back.

 _'Angeal...'_ He tried reaching out to him, his strength slowly returning. But it was so hard, he couldn't keep going. Not after everything that happened...

He just wasn't strong enough

It was like Angeal knew what he was feeling; his eyes looked at him with condemnation and disappointment. "You tarnish the SOLDIER name"

The SOLDIER turned away. Eyes widened in disbelief as hands banged on the crystal of his prison.

"Angeal, wait!" He called for his mentor in desperation. He couldn't leave, not again, not after all this.

Angeal took flight and disappeared from his vision, the bubbles of the pod blurred his gaze until suddenly only light remained.

He then found himself standing on an ocean of blue, almost like water, staring at the equally blue skies. The sun was so bright.

He looked longingly at it, wanting to reach it so badly.

A single feather fell. He'd give everything just for one of those...

"Those wings..." Zack spoke with melancholy and forlorn desire. "I want them too"

To have that strength, the strength to fly and be free at last. To take hold of his fate once more and live according to his ideals.

It was when the feather fell that Zack realized how foolish he had been, he was just about to give up, just let everything go... but he couldn't. His wasn't the only life on the line. Aerith and his friends in SOLDIER, the people that still suffered because of Genesis's actions...

No... He couldn't give up, that wasn't what SOLDIERs do. It wasn't what a hero would do.

His dream shattered like glass.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Writing on his pamphlet, a young man in a lab coat with glasses walked through the area of the underground laboratory of the Shinra mansion. _'This place always creeps me out; I don't know why we bother since these subjects are...'_ The man's thoughts stopped as he saw broken glass on the floor and one of the test subjects now fully awake starting to stand.

Before him could even sound the alarm, Zack's fist slammed into his chin sending him into dream land. Taking several deep breaths, the young SOLDIER looks around at his surroundings. Turning around, a small smiled graced his lips; "Let's go..."

XxX ~ Shinra building ~ XxX

Standing in front of the desk of president Shinra, Tseng reads through a folder with a file inside; "Are you certain of this sir?"

The head of Shinra crossed his fingers in front of his mouth. "Tell me something Tseng; do you know which Shinra's strongest weapon is?"

"I... sir?" The leader of the Turks replied in confusion.

"Control, Tseng. Control" Though his tone was patient, there was a tinge of disappointment in his words. "Mako, technology, our research and our forces, they are all a means to an end. And that end is 'control'. It is through our control that we lead this world to prosperity through progress" He turned in his chair, facing the window. "This last few years... our control has been slipping from our grasp. Once loyal SOLDIERS going rogue, the fiasco that was Nibelheim. We lost our strongest operatives in the span of just two. Years." He punctuated the words for emphasis

Tseng said nothing.

"If we look weak, we start losing control. The people begin questioning us, thoughts and ideas of dissent spreads, our hold weakens further. And then everything" He lifted a hand, gesturing in the air. "Is chaos..." He stood up from his chair walking towards the window. "Shinra represents order and stability, for that we must project that order through everything we do" The blonde haired mustached man took a deep breath. "Tell me Tseng; do we look like we are in control when our agents betray us and slaughter the civilians? Do we look in control when our operatives constantly fail to apprehend an unknown that has been making a mockery of his pursuers?"

The leader of the Turks bristled under his comment and grunted. The president wasn't happy in the least with their lack of progress in capturing that ninja, made worse with all the recent failures the company had been facing.

He stared once more at the file in his hand. But to go this far... To actually assign someone like 'her' to their unit.

"It has become clear to me your operatives cannot handle this unknown on your own" Shinra spoke with disappointment. "So she'll be added to your unit. You'll find she is quite capable, she's been trained to make up for their loses of our best agents after all."

A 1st Class SOLDIER in the Turks... The company had finally had enough with their lack of success, now they were bringing the big guns.

Closing the file, Tseng gave a nod to his boss; "Understood sir," By Gaia, why did it feel something bad was going to happen if these two meet?


	5. Setting the stage

Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto and Final Fantasy VII

Co-Author and beta: Etheral-23

Final Prequel: Setting the stage

As the elevator chimed and its doors opened, Tseng gave a deep sigh as he started his way through the 49th floor of the Shinra building. SOLDIER HQ where for the most part 3rd and 2nd class SOLIDERS resided while 1st class did the most dangerous or black opt missions throughout Gaia. Which it came no surprise to him hearing a slight buzz from new recruits, 2nd and 3rd class lively chatting about the 1st class who showed up several hours ago.

By their tone however, as Tseng could overhear as he passed the lounge, she was not in a very pleasant mood currently. Tseng knew quite a bit of her exploits. One would think gaining such a powerful asset against the unknown ninja protecting Aerith would be a boon for their efforts. But the leader of the Turks only felt a deep knot in his stomach growing more and more.

He had had dealings with her before; during that terrible incident with Zirconiade and the WEAPON she had been sent as a much needed reinforcement.

Going through the hallway, he found his destination as dual metal doors automatically opened. The SOLIDER training room, with every piece of equipment one could dream of, right up to the cutting edge holographic simulation room.

Shifting his brown eyes upon hearing light grunting, Tseng looks at his newest 'member' and another SOLDIER he recalled being around Zack's training often. "Runa Michaels," he called as he walked into the massive room.

Landing several strikes on a punching bag, a fairly well-built young man with short brunette hair and glowing emerald eyes wearing only sweat pants and tapped fists, stopped his exercise hearing a familiar voice. "Tseng," the young man spoke up with some surprise.

"Luxiere, you look well. Enjoying your promotion to 1st?"

A husky feminine abruptly spoke up; "He's still a greenhorn with a lot of growing to do."

Though average in stature, the woman currently at the bench-pressing machine had a strong lean athletic build with toned muscle that blended nicely with her feminine figure. Magenta colored hair in a bob-cut style, wearing only a black sports bra and shorts, her glowing ruby orbs stayed focus to ceiling while the Turks leader wondered just how much was that woman benching; "Miss Runa."

Runa said nothing as she kept at what she doing. Luxiere only gave Tseng a placating expression which spoke volumes of everything the raven haired man was possibly expecting.

His newest agent was not very thrilled of her transfer.

Tseng really couldn't blame her. And in all honestly it was a mark of shame for his section to require outside aid, it spoke of how badly they were performing their duties. Runa was currently the top 1st Class SOLDIER, the people of her rank had worked themselves hard day and night to be where they were. To reach the top of the board and be given the best equipment, best assignments, all which carried the greater responsibility entrusted to them.

To someone like Runa, this must have been like a demotion.

...That, and Tseng was aware she had been called in from her vacation.

With the barest of sighs, she set the bar in place and sat. Rolling her neck and enjoying the feeling accompanied by that popping sound. Her red eyes bore into Tseng, apathetic and uncaring.

"I trust that you've been briefed?" Tseng kept his tone professional.

"I was" She replied as she stood up, placing a towel around her shoulders. "But I wanted to go over them with you, seeing as you and your outfit has first-hand experience"

Fair enough. With a conceding nod, Tseng pulled out a device the size of large cellphone. Pulling at the sides of the device, it extended to reveal a moderately wide screen, which lit up as he turned on his pad.

Tapping the screen images began to play; "As the report said, he showed up three years ago."

Runa paid close attention to every detail of images and vids from cellphones and cameras; "three years and you haven't found anything on this guy? Not even a name?"

"There wasn't a single background that remotely a match to him, all we know is he is a professional and very good at what he does."

"Making asses out you guys, he's not even taking you seriously," the 1st class spoke dryly seeing a few pranks the blond had done to practically everyone in the Turks. "Honestly" She scoffed. "You guys helped take down something called the 'World-Burner' and a freaking WEAPON and you can't deal with one man?"

"Circumstances are different" Tseng explained. "This is Midgar, we're not allowed the same amount of material and equipment to apprehend him, the collateral would be too much"

He still remembered those horrible battles against those monsters. He and his team had used so much material, far more than what was considered safe, and it was the only way to stand a chance against such beings. It wasn't without consequences though, afterwards they regularly submitted to medical checkups and treatment. They weren't SOLDIERS; they weren't made to handle that much energy.

But Runa was, and she had been the game changer in those fights.

Luxiere lightly snorted; "Hearing about Reno getting the brunt of it. Some of it was funny," He chuckled till seeing the blank gazes from both Runa and Tseng. "Never mind," he went back to his punching bag.

"Shuriken and Kunai," Runa commented looking back at the screen; "Wutai?"

"Down to the ninja techniques, everything would point to Wutai" The leader of the Turks agreed with her, but there was a problem to that reasoning. "Unfortunately, we have no confirmation from our contacts in the ninja village"

"You've been dealing with an unknown for years, I'm surprised the company put up with your abyssal success for so long" The SOLDIER didn't even bother hiding the contempt from her voice. Making Luxiere clear his throat uncomfortably while Tseng's eyes narrowed ever so slightly in irritation.

"President Shinra feels that recent events have... called into question the company's ability to maintain stability and control"

She snorted. "With your clowns unable to get their act together it's no wonder why he lost his patience" Runa sarcastically said.

Alright, this was getting out of hand. Regardless of their feelings on the matter, they WERE going to be working together as per their orders instructed. It benefited nobody if the SOLDIER was going to keep this aggressive attitude towards him and his subordinates.

"I would appreciate it if you put the proper teamwork when working for us" He firmly said.

Luxiere let out a distressed 'Ohhhhh', and slowly turned away. When Runa closed her red eyes, took a deep breath and closed the pad, Tseng knew he had made a mistake.

"Listen now" Runa replied; anger lacing her words as her fiery eyes bore into Tseng's once more. "I. Don't. Like. This" She made a point of emphasizing each word. "I don't like being called away from my vacation, removed from my future assignments, my place in the corps, and told to play babysitter on your little group because you can't fix your own damn mess" Her tone was filled with cold fury.

Tseng felt like he was between a sword and a wall.

"So I'll just make it clear. I'm not your teammate, I'm not your subordinate, and I don't work for you. I am going to do your job for you so I can get back to my real job, so I don't want your goons getting in my way, nor you thinking you can give me orders" She got into his face, and those glowing red eyes looked like raging fires. "You do not _order me_ , you _give me suggestions_ "

Luxiere really had to hand it to Tseng, he kept that professional face even when having a 1st class SOLDIER glaring you down; "Agreed," the leader of the Turks said simply.

"Good," Runa leaned back as she started walking for the doors; "Let's get this over with so I go back to my real duties." the door opened and quickly closed as she left the room.

The newly minted 1st class let out a deep breathe; "She has been like that since returning from her vacation."

"I'd don't blame her honestly," Tseng retorted as he adjusted his tie. "But it does have me worried."

"Worried that she won't be able to take on this 'ninja'?" The SOLDIER rhetorically asked. "Cause I gotta tell you; I've seen Runa take on giant monsters with barely any effort on her part"

"The full extent of the ninja's capabilities is unknown, yes. But that isn't what worries me" He shakes his head. "I worry that if she fights, she won't hold back. And just thinking of the collateral..."

"Hehehe" Luxiere rubbed his nose. "Yeah, Runa's on the wild side. Nothing is left standing if it is between her and her target"

The leader of the Turks let out a tired sigh. "Wonderful..."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The stars shined brightly in the heavens above as the lighthouse outside of Nibelheim glowed like a beacon in the night. His boots crunched on the sand as Zack looked out at the ocean before him. He sighed deeply as he rested his hands on his hips; "Now what," speaking to himself as his glowing blue orbs looked upwards; "What should I do now Angeal?"

 _'What I want most is to be with you...'_

Zack closed his eyes as he lowered his head; "Hope Aerith isn't too mad at me." He lightly chuckled as he felt someone trying to sneak up on him. He smiled as he already knew who it was; "Hey Cissnei, been a while."

The petite redhead couldn't quite describe her emotions at present. "Zack," her voice nearly a whisper with a tone of relief and surprise. She thought he had died, even Tseng said so; "You were Hojo's fugitive test sample?"

"Yeah" He rubbed his neck. "Think I got off easy, and that's saying something with what that creep is into..." They could have ended up so much worse; Hojo's experiments would involve a fate worse than death.

"But the reports..." She didn't understand.

Zack did though. "Ah, they hid what happened at Nibelheim. Hmph ain't really a surprise though" Shinra would stop at nothing to hide the dirty little secret of their best operative going mad and slaughtering an entire village.

"Sephiroth is responsible, I know" Her words surprised him. Shinra didn't hide Sephiroth was responsible. "But... they say you died there too"

Now it was clear. They couldn't hide what Sephiroth did, but rather than rescue him and his friend, they felt they served as better 'assets' if they were to be turned into Hojo's lab rats. All those years of service, all that dedication and training... their lives, their loyalty. None of it had meant anything to Shinra.

"Ah..."

He had seen the true colors of the company, witnessed the dark abyss that was the beating heart of the corporation. The lies, the secrets, the dark deeds committed in order to preserve 'peace' and 'prosperity'.

What a bunch of bullshit...

Now it was clear to him, even if he dealt with Genesis, he and his friend would never be safe from Shinra.

"You here to take me in?" Zack turned to look at his friend; least he hoped she was still a friend.

Cissnei lightly bit her lip as she turned her head, the wind shifting her red locks. Why, why did it have to be Zack? She made peace with that fact he died when Sephiroth went crazy. But now, seeing him standing in front of her, alive!

"Please," she gasps as he spoke again making her look at him; "just walk away. Shinra's army I knew we would have no trouble with, but if the Turks after us..."

The redhead slowly looked to her feet. She was still a Turk, she had a duty. Didn't she? Her left hand lightly trembled as she slowly reached behind her back. "Zack... I-I'm sorry..." The former SOLDIER looked shock as Cissnei pulled out her Rekka; "But I... I am a Turk and I have a duty."

She threw her shuriken, barely at her usual strength and was easily deflected by Zack's buster sword.

"Don't come any closer" The warning was delivered by a soft pleading tone. "I don't want to fight you, Cissnei. I don't want to..." He couldn't even bring himself to say the words. Instead, he continued with his newfound resolution; "I'm done with Shinra. From now on, I'm doing what's right. I'm gonna stop Genesis"

Cissnei's hand tightened into fists. "And then what?" She asked, her voice nearly hissing. "Are you going to fight Shinra? Fight everyone?"

He sighed. "Haven't thought that far to be honest" He sounded so carefree like always. "Figure I'll take care this and then I'll see what I do. I'll make it up as I go"

"Zack..." As stubborn as always.

He gave her one last look; the wind blew softly as their eyes meet, carrying the salty sea breeze.

Zack kept the Buster Sword pointed at her as walked away, once he was far enough he broke eye contact and turned to full sprint, leaving her behind.

Cissnei did not attempt to follow him.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Running back to the hillside beside the lighthouse, Zack took a breath seeing his blond spiky haired friend still sitting catatonic against the boulder. "Never was much of a planner," Zack mumbled. "But we stop Genesis, and get back to Aerith. I'll think of something then."

He sharply turned seeing Cissnei standing a foot away. Neither said a word as the former SOLDIER hand went for the hilt of his weapon till the petite redhead lifted her hand and took out her cellphone and started dialing. Zack almost spoke till she silenced him with a finger; "Tseng, no target sighted."

His glowing electric blues were wide as Cissnei closed her cell and put it back. Her eyes shifted to the blond figure sitting; "He was also Hojo's..."

"Yeah."

"He has Mako addiction."

Zack nodded slowly; "I know, who knows what that lunatic did to us. But I got to get him out of here." He blinked as the Turk walked up to him pulling out some keys. "Cissnei."

"I made my choice, there's an old garage not far with what goes with those keys." She placed them in her friend's hand. "If you trust me enough." She said no more as she turned and walked away.

"...Thank you. Cissnei," Zack said quietly.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

With his unbandaged hand, Naruto wiped the steam off the mirror in the bathroom. The now twenty-four year old Uzumaki takes a long look at himself. Not much has changed for the blond since he was twenty, benefit of being an Uzu.

The only real difference was the letting the back of his hair grow out. While not too long, going just below his shoulder blades, the former Anbu quite liked the new look. His way to remember that old perv Jiraiya.

For a while he had contemplated on cutting his spiky lock to something shorter, but that idea ran out the window. Even Aerith said it sounded just not him, and he agreed.

His thoughts drifted momentarily to his old mentor, it had been a while since he last thought of him. He remembered the pranks he'd pull on the old pervert, how much Jiraiya would get on his nerves with his cheapness and perverted behavior. They would drive each other nuts, pushing each other's buttons while sharing just as many close and heartwarming moments.

Naruto still smiled whenever he remembered Jiraiya praising him, ruffling his hair whenever he got a technique right at last.

After his death, not long before the war, Naruto would get the shock of his life when he met a beautiful white haired swordswoman, with a magnificently colorful and stylish attire, and an attitude that remind him of Jiraiya so much.

It was only natural he supposed, she was his daughter after all.

 _'My old man loved you like a grandchild'_ she had said. There was no judgement in her voice, no rage filled accusation of Naruto having let Jiraiya die. She had smiled as she lightly shook the sake cup in her hand while leaning back on her seat, fondly sharing with him her own memories of the man so important to them both. _'Supposed that kinda makes me your aunt. But forget about that'_ She winked at him mirthfully. _'From now on, just call me "Big Sis"'_

Yuma, he could safely say his 'big sis' got him into more mayhem then he could whenever he went on a mission. And naturally being the daughter of the self-proclaimed 'SUPER PERVERT' she also took into that habit maybe even more so than her old man.

Drying out his hair with a towel he heard a light knock at the door; "Mom's got breakfast almost ready," Aerith's voice coming from the other side.

"It was my turn to cook;" the blond lightly pouted.

He only heard the beautiful brunette giggle; "I swear you two."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

After a good breakfast and light training for Aerith, the duo made their way through sector 5. The tall blond wearing a simple shirt and jeans while his companion had on her pink dress and jacket. Both were greeted by a few waves and brief exchanges, while the sector still was not completely safe.

Aerith was happy in seeing the few warmest residents of the sector treated her friend kindly.

"While the monsters are still a problem, least the bandits seem to leave this place alone for the most part," the young Cetra smiled.

The blond snorted; "Never could call a bandit smart."

They were but a few meters away from the church Aerith frequented so much. Aerith called that place holy, and it was why the flowers grew so strong inside. And Naruto agreed with her, it was one of the few places in this damn city where he could actually feel some natural energy. It was a place that brought him comfort; there was definitely something... spiritual about the place.

Aerith said she could 'talk to the planet', but not in a sense people understood. It wasn't a conversation, not like how two people communicated. Aerith would fondly say she could speak with her deceased mother there, once again taking the time to explain to Naruto that; No, she couldn't speak with the dead.

She had giggled when she saw his expression upon being told of her 'abilities' could do.

It was hard to explain, but Aerith felt a presence in the church, warmth, love. A gentle feeling embracing her and filling her with joy. She knew it was her mother.

Naruto knew exactly how she felt, though their circumstances had been vastly different, he understood.

The doors were open as usual, but when they entered they were surprised to see someone else inside.

Sitting in front of the flowers was a beautiful young woman. Her hair was wavy and wild, thick strands framed her face perfectly, covering most of her forehead and staying close to her cheeks. It was held up in a high ponytail, telling the dark locks cascade down over her back.

Her attire was one designed for utility and combat. A sleeveless reddish leather vest over a white shirt. Leather leggings over dark pants protecting her legs, along with dark boots designed for travel. Leather armguards around her forearms, fingerless gloves on her hands. Around her waist was a long waist cloak.

She lifted her heart shaped face, and was greeted by what had to be the softest and yet strangely the strongest shade of blue eyes they had ever seen.

"Oh" The stranger smiled at the sight of them. "Hello there"

"Hello," Aerith returned the greeting with a tilt of her head; "are you from the slums?"

While the woman did not give off any malicious intent, that could be hidden. But Naruto kept himself alert as the woman got to her feet. "I roam pretty much anywhere, I'm a wandering adventurer you could say, call me Evelyn. Hope I wasn't intruding."

Aerith shook her head; "Not at all, this is a church after all, I just have never seen anyone but me and my friend coming here."

"The flowers are beautiful," Evelyn looked back to the garden. "Out of everywhere in Midgar this is one place that grows anything."

"So why come to the slums of all places," Naruto finally speaking up. His brunette friend eyed him curiously; "family?"

Evelyn smiled at him; "You're being cautious, I can respect that. And right now I know my word can't be taken at face value since we just met, but I mean no ill will to either of you."

Naruto reached out with the ability to sense emotions Kurama provided. There was no malicious intent coming out from this woman, she felt sincere. But he still had this nagging feeling at the back of his head, something he couldn't quite place.

 _'What do you think?_ ' He asked his tenant.

" **Feels like a regular human to me"** the fox replied. **"It's good to be cautious, but I don't think this person means you or the girl any harm"**

 _'Nothing odd you can pick from her?'_

" **Hmm"** Kurama pondered for a moment. " **Her energy is definitely above average, large even. But she said she's an adventurer, must have traveled a lot and had a lot of training and experience"**

Naruto's lips pursed, he still wasn't sure. Why did he feel so... odd in the presence of this woman?

" **Stop being so paranoid, kit"** the fox drawled with a roll of his eyes; **"Not everyone is out to kill you"**

 _'Ninja training for all my life'_ He conceded. _'It sticks to you'_

Kurama snorted as Naruto cleared his throat; "Sorry, didn't mean to sound like an ass. You just can't be too careful in the slums."

"Oh I agree," Evelyn chuckled; "ran into at least two bandits and a weird little imp monster."

"Hedgehog pies they're called," Aerith clarified as she walked over.

"More like annoying pest that breathes fire," Naruto grumbled earning a giggle from his beautiful brunette friend.

"He actually got into a yelling match with a dozen of them."

The wandering adventurer gave the man a long look; "seriously?"

"They started it!" He defended himself. "Thought I'd give the little bastards a taste of their own medicine"

"It was so funny" The flower girl laughed. "They just stood in a row in front of him, shouting rather than attacking. He did well enough at first... but again, there was a dozen of them so he got tired faster trying to catch up with how loud they were shouting. He ended up with a very sore throat and couldn't speak for a week"

The blonde gave her a long, deadpanning look. "...Why did you say that? I don't go around telling embarrassing stories about you"

"I'm sorry" Her tone indicated she wasn't sorry in the least. "But when you get into a yelling match with little monsters, willingly, you are pretty much asking to be embarrassed"

"I realize your first opinion of me must be that I am pretty dumb" Naruto quickly said to the wild haired woman.

"Just about, yeah"

Who the hell has a willing to have a conversation with monsters!?

" **And they set you pants on fire** " Kurama added chuckling.

' _Thank you for reminding me,_ ' Naruto grumbled before shaking his head; "Anyways, welcome to the slums."

Evelyn giggled; "Interesting place so far. Not the strangest place I've seen but interesting."

"You've been all over Gaia?" Aerith asked as she tended to her flowers.

"From the Cosmo Canyon, Wutai, Mideel, to even places rarely seen by humans. Even meet a village of Moogles in a deep forest. Very polite folks."

That made the former Anbu blink; "I've seen kids with stuff toys of them. They're real?"

"They prefer living in the forests, they are friendly, but keep to themselves and rarely get visitors."

"Ohhhh I had a plushie of them as a child. They're so cute!" The flower girl couldn't help herself. Those plumb tiny bodies, those big noses and tiny wings. They were just the most adorable thing in the world.

"Oh aren't they?" Evelyn gushed as well. "Try telling one that to their face. They get so defensive about it, but that makes them all the more cute"

Maybe he should just leave and let them have a girl talk, Naruto thought with a roll of his shoulder. He never quite understood what the deal was with girls and cute things.

"So," Evelyn gave smile to both; "What do you two do?"

"Aerith usually sells flowers either in the slums or the upper plate," Naruto commented as he sat down on a pew.

"Naruto works as blacksmith in Sector 7, but he also does a lot around the slums. Fighting monsters, bandits. I swear he does not know the meaning of the word sitting still."

The blond gave a dry look to his friend only smiled back; "I do meditate you know, I am a sage thank you."

"So says the man who wakes up at four in the morning and trains till seven."

Her lips curled up in interested. "Sage huh?" There was something in her voice they couldn't quite place.

Naruto and Aerith exchange a look. "Something wrong?"

"Oh nothing. Just a... Interesting way to present yourself" Her smile grew a bit. "People say lots of things about sages. I wonder if they are true..."

"I like nature" He left it at that, no reason to give this stranger any more info.

"I think we have that in common" Evelyn said, pausing for a few moments before stretching. "At any rate, I gotta go now. Maybe I'll stick around; this place seems to have a lot of interesting things going on"

Dusting her hands, Aerith stood up smiling; "it was good to meet you Miss Evelyn."

"Just call me Evelyn or Evie," She saw Naruto stand and extend his hand to her. She shook it hardily; "Hope to run across you two again."

"Stay safe," the blond watched as the woman walked out of the church. Looking back he saw his brunette friend with her hands behind her back leaning forward looking at him.

"You don't like her?"

"No, not that," the blond shook his head; "I'm probably just being paranoid."

"You can be a bit jumpy at times," A teasing smile came from the flower girl.

"Ha-ha..."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Closing the church doors behind her, Evie made her way down the dirt path of the slums. "A sage, hmm. While a bit of an odd man, I have no reason to distrust his words" she spoke out loud to herself.

She walked down a more hidden path, away from prying eyes and ears.

"He doesn't appear to be a threat"

...

"He isn't evil. I saw into his heart. His life forged him into the man he is"

...

She sighed. "You make a good point. I'll keep a close eye on him"

...

"Don't worry, there is still time. Mother Gaia will be saved"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Sitting at his desk, Tseng gazed blankly at the monitor of his computer; _'So you finally woke up. I wondered when you would Zack.'_

It had been the knot in his stomach for years after the incident at Nibelheim. When Sephiroth went insane, he told those close to Zack he had died in the fire. Lying to those closest to him, Cissnei took it the hardest.

Perhaps death would have been preferable than to whatever Hojo did to him with his experiments.

...And from the sounds of it, that was going to be the outcome.

Already Shinra was mobilizing a lot of their armed forces. Their mission was a simple one; Search and Destroy...

Tseng rested his elbows and let out a long pained sigh filled of frustration and regret. There was nothing he could do, nothing he could say that would change things. Zack was going to die.

The last few years had been the worst in the company's history. And that was no lie. Genesis and Angeal going rogue, Sephiroth going insane, once loyal soldiers defecting and spreading chaos and destruction. Failure after failure after failure.

President Shinra had had enough. There would be no mercy.

"...Gods damn it, Zack"

No, it wasn't fair. Zack was a victim of events beyond his control, used and discarded by the company. Tseng's mind wondered to all the people that had suffered because of poor foresight and lack ethical code on Shira's part.

...But he had no right to complain about ethics no didn't he?

"Veld... what should I do?"

XxX ~ several years prior ~ XxX

 _"Duty and loyalty..."_

 _"Sir?"_

 _A much younger Tseng stood in front of the desk at the Turks office. Sitting at the desk, was an older gentleman with short brown hair with hints of grey in them. A short goatee with a scar on his cheek. His brown eye cast steely at his young agent._

 _"How do you define duty and loyalty?"_

 _"To Shinra sir," Tseng answered simply._

 _"I didn't ask who you are loyal to. I asked how do you define duty and loyalty?" Veld asked once more._

 _The Young Turk pondered on his answer for a moment. "Loyalty is to be commitment to our obligations, our superiors and our cause. Duty is commitment to those to the task we've been given"_

 _"So the two are one and the same?"_

 _Tseng looked at him in confusion. "I'm afraid I don't understand, sir"_

 _"I believe the Turks must uphold their loyalty with the company, for we work to serve the greater good" The chief of the Turks explained, his mouth hidden behind his interlocked fingers. "But our duty is to the people and our ideals. We must fulfill the missions given to us, but we most also not forget that we do it to serve the people"_

 _"Why are you telling me this sir?"_

 _"Because" There was glint in Veld's eyes, there was old pain and regret. "Sometimes your loyalty will call your duty into question. Your code, your morals" He closed his eyes, and held back a sigh. "You must uphold both. The mission and your morals"_

 _"But if they come into conflict like you said sir? If I have to choose between one and the other?"_

 _"Then always remember the mission must be fulfilled first, after that is up to you what to do"_

XxX ~ present ~ XxX

Tseng sighed as he leaned back on his chair; "You were a far better Turk than I could be Veld..."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Through the natural mountain passes that resided around Cosmo Canyon, the roar of the motorcycle engine deafens the natural and bestial noises usually heard. Driving through the rocky terrain, Zack eyes the still motionless passenger in the sidecar; "See if I can find a doctor in the slums, or you wake up soon Gods willing."

The former SOLDIER had half a mind hunting Hojo down for whatever he did to him and his friend. But that won't help his friend, and in truth he'd rather get back to Aerith. Turning a corner, Zack slowed the bike till coming to a stop; "Well I'll be damned," he grinned as he got off the bike taking a few steps. His glowing blue orbs taking in to what was below the cliffs.

"Gongaga..." Surrounded by a dense forest, a mid-size village could be seen at its center. Close-by was the ruins of the Mako reactor which had exploded ages ago. "We actually made it to my hometown."

Zack's smile slowly thinned as he looked back to the bike. Without another word, the raven haired man got back on and made his way down the mountain path and towards the ruins of the Mako reactor. Parking and turning off the bike, "You should be safe here," Zack spoke as he got off the bike.

This area of the village was still sealed off, it was too near the reactor and fears of Mako poisoning were still on everyone's mind after all this time. Most of the people lived at the center of the village, so it's no surprise this area was pretty much deserted.

He strutted about, taking in the sight of the run-down buildings. It's been some time since he's last been here.

Zack's thoughts went to his parents. He didn't know how this 'quest' of his was gonna end, but... if the worse came to past he just... he just wanted to see them again, just one more time was enough for him.

So entrapped in his own thoughts he was he completely missed the presence of a figure standing right behind him.

"Hey"

He turned around immediately; his hand swiftly grasped the handle of the Buster Sword, ready to strike without a second's hesitation. Zack sighed and relaxed once he saw who it was.

"You should have known this was the first place we'd look" Cissnei reprimanded him with mirth in her voice.

The former SOLDIER let out a disgruntled sigh; "Of course you would."

"Still can't plan ahead for anything can you?" Zack lightly glared while Cissnei only gave a teasing grin in return. "You came to see your parents?"

"...I was worried; mom was probably terrified something happened."

"It's okay," Cissnei walked over to Zack's right; "I told them you've been on a long-term mission. Due to its classified natured, you really couldn't send messages to them."

"You spun that off from the top of your head?"

"Yep."

Zack snorted before looking to the petite redhead who looks back; "How were they?"

"They're fine. Though your mom is worried you might never find a wife." Cissnei faintly giggled at the sight of Zack blushing and getting flustered. "But I also came here on sightings of another target." she paused as her friend turned to her; "Angeal."

Zack crossed his arms looking to the sky; "I see."

"You killed Angeal, Zack, and you're not surprised hearing he might be alive?"

"How do you think I got out of Shinra manor?"

The petite Turk paused before conceding with a nod; "Of course he would. You were his student."

"What are your orders?"

"...I don't feel like following them," she walked around her friend who looked shock at hearing that; "I'll give you ten minutes, then I rejoin the Turks."

The SOLDIER gave her a long analyzing look, which made Cissnei uncomfortable. Made her feel like he could see right into her thoughts, into every single Thing that went on in her head.

"You've been... awfully kind lately" He said, and soon held up his hands. "Don't get me wrong, I appreciate it a lot but. Well... given the circumstances I didn't expect you to be so lenient"

"...You make it hard to follow orders sometimes" She admitted.

"Heh" Zack smirked. "I'll take that as a compliment"

"Don't let it go to your head" The shuriken wielder frowned. "You own me, several times. And I'll remind you we're still hunting you"

"Yeah, yeah," the raven haired man waved his hand before pausing; "Think you can look after my folks?"

"Sure," Zack blinked at how causally Cissnei replied. "Your mom even invited me to join the family," she walked away smirking.

"WHAT?!" Zack gawked; "Cissnei!"

The petite redhead kept walking; "That's not my real name. Five minutes Zack..."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"67... 68... 69" Tifa huffed, her face twisting with strain. "70... 71" She loved some good training, feel the burn on her muscles as she pushed her limits. "72..." Her teeth clenched with exertion. Problem was there was a decent place in this gods forsaken district to get a good workout.

Naruto had the brilliant idea of using the train graveyard. Alright it didn't seem brilliant to her at first, after all she couldn't really picture herself getting anything done here that could improve her skills. But the ninja had pointed out the place was deserted, and if any monster popped out then all the better, it meant practice and more experience against those creeps.

Currently, the barkeep was curling a simple yet rusted iron tube that had been lying around. One would find the sight of her lifting an item like that with so much effort put into it to be downright comical. That she was really weak or was outright faking it.

But if one were to take a closer look, they would see the exhaustion in her face, the strain in her biceps as they flexed and rippled, the sweat rolling down her neck were all very much real. That mere tube she was curling was 'very' heavy.

Another benefit of this little personal training place was that Naruto with those little seal thingies of his were helluva lot useful to turn old pieces of rusted metal into far better equipment than anything she could ever find or afford. Like right now, a single seal on the tube and suddenly the thing was several times heavier than it should be.

"87... 88" She grunted and heaved, so close, so very close. Her eyes closed as she struggled to finish. "89..." The makeshift weight bar was proving to be very defiant in its ascent. "Come on, come on!" Tifa pretty much growled as she lifted the tube to the desired height. "90!" She gasped and dropped it.

The tube fell to the ground with a loud crushing sound, the concrete beneath it breaking and lifting up dust with the impact.

There! She had broken her personal record. Tifa gasped for breath, letting her arms fall limply to the sides. They burned like hell, her muscles felt like jelly...

"Not bad" Her training partner congratulated. "Broke your record" He smiled down at her from his spot on a train car's roof. The blond wearing his burnt orange pants and black muscle shirt.

Red eyes looked up at him as she flashed a proud smirk. "'Not bad'? I'd say that was awesome" She boasted by lifting an arm and flexing... she immediately regretted it because as soon she made a muscle her arm was suddenly in agony. "Ow, ow..."

Rolling his eyes, the blond pulled out a small object from his pocket; "Your muscles are going to hurt for a while, here." Tifa caught the object seeing it was ointment; "My mom made that for me when my muscles got overly sore."

"Thank you," Tifa smiled as she opened the lid and her nostrils winced. She quickly closed it.

"Not the best smelling stuff but it works wonders."

Putting the ointment aside, the busty brunette looked up at her friend; "Care for a spar?"

"We keep it light, best not to over-strain."

Ther spar this time consisted of a slow trading of strikes as so Tifa wouldn't overwork herself. Just refinement of technique and movement. It gave Naruto time to ponder as this wasn't really a spar in which they both had to put effort and anticipate the other's movement.

Every time her flesh made contact with his whenever he blocked a punch or a kick he could feel it, like a flare or energy coursing through her limbs... which was exactly what it was.

Energy. Not from Materia, but hers, her own energy coming from the depths of her body.

It was almost like chakra...

It had been bothering him for a long time now. Well, more along the lines that it was driving him nuts. Using the sensory abilities provided by Kurama he could feel it, the energy in her body. She had energy that was so similar to Materia it almost didn't make sense for him.

It wasn't just Tifa, humans here had it too, and Tifa's was just more obvious doing all the training she did. The Turks too had it.

But why didn't they use it then? Did they even know HOW to employ it?

Aerith was another case; her race was different from humans. She could draw out not only her own energy, but also draw IN the energies from nature like some in-born sage-like ability that came naturally to her. It reminded him of the animals back home and their greater connection to nature chakra.

Naruto wondered how it was possible the humans of Gaia didn't know about it.

" **Perhaps they did know once"** Kurama suggested.

He had a good point. Maybe all they needed was to learn how to access that energy.

Hmm, that gave him an idea. Could he? Well the bigger question was 'should he'?

Well, Tifa he knew would handle it properly.

He made up his mind. "Stop" He called out their fight.

"What's wrong?" The barkeep asked him.

"I... wanna try something" He slowly said. "Do you trust me?"

That made the brawler look at him with concern. "Is... everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just... It's hard to explain. I think you are capable of a lot more than you think possible. For that I need to make sure of something" He tried to explain. "I'm gonna place use seal on you, don't worry, it's just to 'analyze' your body you could say"

She slowly nodded. "Um... Okay. I'm curious where you're going with this. Go head"

Naruto placed a hand on her head, a single seal formed on his hand; it began 'grasping' the structure of the body under his touch. He closed his eyes for greater concentration as a thin wave of chakra moved over her body.

Tifa shivered, it felt so weird...

Naruto let the seal guide him through the intricacies of her body, every muscle, tendon, bone, nerve; it went deeper and deeper until...

...There, a glow, surging and flaring like flames inside of her.

Energy. Almost like chakra yet not, he thought on what he had heard on his travels through his own world, how other cultures called it, chakra, chi, ki, prana, and mana. Many names for the same spiritual-physical energy present in everything. There weren't chakra pathways, at least not those of a design ninjas would possess; her biology was different in that regard.

He guided his own chakra through her body. Wrapping a single 'strand' and pulling it forward.

Tifa's energy came alive.

She gasped, this strange new feeling was so sudden, so... invigorating. She stepped back, looking at her hands as she swore she could see circuitry-like lines temporarily glow underneath her skin, banishing in an instant.

"What..." She gasped. "What was that?"

"Where I come from they call it chakra, the lifeforce energy that exist in all beings. Feels weird channeling it huh?"

Tifa couldn't describe it, she could not form the words to the feeling she felt. It was like she had been wearing blinders, or submerged deep in the oceans. And for the first time ever she hit the surface. Everything felt different, everything looked different.

"Ever since we started training together I've felt something, I felt a lot of it. Call it whatever you like, mako or whatever, but you have a hell of a lot of chakra."

"This how you been using those weird powers," the beautiful barkeep said breathlessly. "By Gaia I feel so..."

"Alive?"

A million thoughts coursed through her mind, her mind tried to reel itself and reestablish some semblance of order and control them. Yet all she could do was stare at her hands and sputtered half-finished questions at rapid succession.

"I-I don't- How did you- I mean, why hasn't anybody-?"

"Calm down" Naruto held up a hand, partly amused by her current reactions. "You always had it inside you, I just used a bit of my own to 'tug it out' you could say"

The barkeep took long deep calming breaths.

"How do I do that on my own?" She wanted to experience it again so badly. It felt so different than using materia, while the invigorating feeling was there this felt so... so personal, like it was a part of herself she never knew existed finally awakening after a long slumber. Probably because it was.

 _'Hmm, would trying jutsu help,'_ Naruto mentally comments to Kurama.

 **"While she has chakra, her biology is different. You felt it when you were searching through her; her pathways are very different than those of our world. Chakra exercises would still work to help her harness her energy, but I would not recommend Jutsu."**

The blond ran his hair through his blond locks; "Well I can teach you exercises to harness your energy. May help you use materia a lot better in the long run."

"Do it!" Gods she couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Let's start, right now!"

"Woohoho!" He held up his hands as his own smile grew. "Easy there, that's the excitement talking. And the rush for the first time of flaring your own energy. Don't think I need to remind you you're physically tired from all the training today" He patted her in the shoulder. "Rest. We'll start tomorrow proper"

She huffed. "But I wanna learn now!" Great job sounding so mature there, Tifa.

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, I remember when I was like that. Trust me, it'll be worth it"

The brawler threw her head back and groaned. "Fine... But can you at least tell me how to draw it out on my own?"

"Ah..." He scratched his head. That was complicated, for him it had been an instinctive thing since he started the academy, he wasn't quite sure how to explain such a concept to her. "At first it's all about concentration I guess. Like... feeling like you have this pool of water inside you and you try to make it flow through your body with... with your mind and your senses, I think"

"...How does that even make sense?"

"It will make sense tomorrow," How the hell does a woman make a pout look so damn sexy. Shaking his head the blond cleared his throat; "we can talk about it later tomorrow after I'm done working for Sheamus, beside Marlene is probably wondering where you are."

The blond had met the little girl that Tifa took care of while her dad was working. Naruto always found it weird he never met the guy yet, but waved it off as working hard for his daughter.

Although being called Mr. Whiskers made his eye twitch every time.

"Alright, alright," Tifa grumbled before smiling and giving her friend a hug; "thank you."

The blond chuckled as he hugged her back; "What friends do."

Letting go, the buxom brunette makes her way out of the train graveyard. **"Enjoy that hug,"** Kurama snicker.

 _'Oh hush.'_ the blond did a light stretch; "Think I'll train a little then head home."

" _ **Glad to see you settled in well**_ ," Naruto froze before slowly turning and looking up. " _ **Hello~**_ "

There it was, the face of the person who had saved him when he was at death's door, sitting atop one of the abandoned trains.

Long black hair like waved out of the starry night itself, it gave the effect of almost looking at that dark sky dotted with stars. Beautiful mocha skin on a figure so perfect it had to be impossible. A very low cut dress, one half red and the other purple.

And those eyes, one silver and the other golden... eyes that glimmered with power far beyond any mortal's ken. Eyes filled with nothing but pure, chaotic, madness.

" _ **Thought I'd drop by and check up on you**_ " She smiled so widely at him from up there. " _ **See how you were doing. Been a while, kid**_ "

Just looking at her... Unlike before when he was nearly dead, it was almost like his own mind wanted to scream out in terror and abandon any notion of sanity he had. So powerful...

" **Don't... do anything, that could set her off"** Kurama wisely advice. **"She is... something great"**

" _ **You'd be wise to listen to your partner**_ " The woman casually, standing right behind him and checking up her nails. " _ **He sounds smart**_ "

He turned around sharply with a gasp, one second she had been sitting on the roof of train and then at his side. Naruto felt a cold drop of sweat fall from his forehead. She had heard Kurama, which meant she could most likely hear his own thoughts.

" _ **Cat got your tongue?**_ " She lifted an elegant brow. " _ **Those usually go well with brain pie**_ "

"...Who are you?" WHAT was she?

That seemed to please her, if the cheek-splitting smile was any indication. " _ **Ahhhh, how I love my introductions**_ " She paced around. " _ **I am called many things, boy**_ " She had a happy skip to her steps. " _ **The Mantler of the Old Mad One. The Lady of the Never-There**_ "

Things were... shifting, around them. Shapes became distorted, space itself seemed to warp and objects were replaced with... colors. A thousand sounds roared all at once from everywhere and nowhere.

She twirled around and laughed. " _ **I am called Mad Star, the Mad One, and the Chaos-Shaped whole of creation**_ " She danced in that myriad of colors, it was so bright Naruto's head felt like it was splitting due to the horrible headache they induced.

Thought and ideas became physical, so warped and twisted, yet so creative and wonderful, so free, just contemplating them was too much.

" _ **I am the Fevered Dream, and the Crazed Inspiration. I am the shadow in your psyche, those dark things you want to keep hidden. My lands are the Shivering Isles, and my domain is the beautiful and horrid places the deranged minds wander to**_ " She smiled at him. " _ **My name, the one I inherited, is Sheogorath,**_ " her named thundered around him and throughout the area.

Then, it stopped. Reality popped back into place and suddenly he could breathe again.

" _ **But call me Sheo for short**_ " She casually waved it off in good nature. " _ **Or Raven if you want**_ "

Naruto gulped, feeling like he was witnessing Kaguya once again.

"...You're a god" Kurama had never honestly given him a real straight answer about her in the years since they came to Gaia. It was the rarest of times he ever saw true genuine terror in the old surly kitsune when just mentioning her.

" _ **Yeeeep~**_ " She popped the 'p' at the end. " _ **It's a family thing. Pass it down from me to myself every few thousand years**_ "

"You brought me here"

" _ **Right again!**_ " He heard the music of a slot machine play in the background. " _ **If you get the third one right you win a lifetime supply of CHEESE~!**_ "

"...Why?"

The 'loser' music was heard, along with a flare of red light coming from... somewhere.

" _ **Ehhh!**_ " She gave him thumbs down. " _ **Not an answer, kid. That's a question. Did you even go to school?**_ "

He tried again. "Why did you save me? Why did you bring me?"

" _ **Well, honestly**_ " Sheo shrugged. " _ **Cosmos explicitly told me not to. So I decided I REALLY wanted to do the opposite of that just to annoy her**_ "

Nothing of what she said rang any bells for him. In fact, little of what she said made sense. Period. "Who?"

" _ **Eh you wouldn't know her, isn't relevant right now. Bit stiff, could really use a holiday. Always tell her she needs to get laid. Probably why she never visits**_ "

Probably safer for his sanity not to ask while Sheo hummed and skipped around him; "Can you tell me anything about what going on here on Gaia?" The goddess stopped with her hands behind her back and slowly looked at him.

Again he hears Kurama silently pleading not to piss this 'being' off in any way.

" _ **Ah Gaia, interesting place isn't it? Full of wonder, mystery and a giant pizza tray right above our heads! Oh wait that's a city,**_ " Sheo shook her head as she clicked her tongue; " _ **You'd think with all that wealth Shinra would get creative with it. Nah, 'let's build one big giant ugly city that is killing the planet, Magnificent!'**_ "

"So... uh, why are you here?" Naruto asked before hastily adding. "Uh, your eh... liege? Highness?" Better play it safe around a god.

" _ **I was bored and sometimes I like to check on how my pranks are going**_ " He felt insulted at being labeled a 'prank'. " _ **Honestly, I'm disappointed. Hoped that by now you would blow something up and spread chaos and mayhem. Buuuut you're playing things too slow for my liking.**_ "

"Sorry to disappoint, I guess" He sheepishly rubbed his neck. "But, you didn't answer my question?"

" **Don't push her, kid..."**

" _ **Oh I know**_ " She replied earnestly. " _ **And I won't tell you! I don't like spoiling things for people, it's like that jackass who always spoils the end of a movie. Ugh, don't you just hate that guy?**_ "

He did, but that was beside the point; "Figure it out on my own?" Soon victorious fanfare seems to play in the background around him.

" _ **DING, DING! More fun when you get to the surprises**_ ," she leaned in smiling; " _ **and you might make some surprises of your own. Now, have to go, being the goddess of madness is very serious work**_ ," Sheo said tiredly before giving Naruto a stern look which made him stand ramrod straight; "B _ **e good boy and cause some mayhem around here okay. I'll be seeing you again, if not Haskill will. OH you'll love Haskill, utter wild-man. He brought a whole castle down with nothing but a fork! Ta-ta!**_ "

Like that the mad goddess vanished in a flash of light. Looking down, the blond saw a wheel of cheese in his hands; "Well... That was something."

 **"Trust me kit,"** Kurama looked cautiously at the gigantic wheel of cheese was sitting in front of him in Naruto's mindscape; **"It can get way more strange than you can imagine."**

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Banora Village, the only other area of civilization in the region besides Mideel, on a small island near Junon and Fort Condor. Or was; the Shinra bombers scorched earthed the village from the map upon learning it was used as a base of operations by the rogue agent.

As Zack stood at the edge of a cliff, there was nothing left that showed a village existed here at all. Nature had retaken the area. "How long were we in that mansion?" he mused quietly to himself. But he shook away the thoughts. He knew _he_ was waiting for him here.

Genesis...

Going through the village ruins the former SOLDIER soon came to an entrance of what looked like a large mine. Which he found interesting cause he never even saw or knew of a mine at Banora. Traversing the tunnels and dealing with monsters or Genesis copies, the raven haired man found a table with several pictures and journals. The pictures being of Angeal and Genesis, from when they were children to adults.

Zack only frowned as he skimmed through a journal; "Project G and Project A. It was never a real village but a damn lab." And Genesis and Angeal were the subjects; it made the former SOLDIER sick to his stomach.

But there was still a chance, there had to be. For Angeal, Zack could least try and save Genesis.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Going through the tunnels it was becoming less man-made and more natural cave network, a big one. But his patience was rewarded as a figure wearing a black SOLDIER'S outfit like him, but with his usual red long coat. His short red hair nearly turned white now. His crimson bladed rapier in his right hand.

"Genesis," Zack spoke quietly as he stopped a few feet behind the man who has his back to him.

The rogue SOLDIER stood in front a large statue of female figure that Zack had no idea who that was. But he knew what was behind it. This had to be the biggest summoning materia he had ever seen.

"I'd knew you'd come, that you would find this place," Genesis spoke while gazing at the statue. "With Sephiroth's cells within you, and Angeal's buster sword, the three friends are reunited again."

"It's not too late to end this" The wielder of the Buster Sword pleaded.

Genesis ignored him; "'My soul, corrupted by vengeance'"

Once again he was quoting that damn poem, blindly guided by a vague piece of flowery poetry which had no real meaning or purpose. He didn't know why, but it just made Zack so damn angry...

"'Hath endured-'"

"Enough!" Zack shouted, his voice echoed throughout the caverns.

The winged SOLDIER relented his quoting, silenced by the outburst yet still did not deign to look at him.

"No more poems, no more of your damn 'prophecies'! Just... Just stop it Genesis!" He took one step forward, "Do you have any idea how many people you've hurt because you wanted revenge?! How many innocent people caught in the crossfire?!"

Genesis still didn't look at him.

"...You think your 'goddess' will give you her favor?" Zack scoffed in anger. "Or will she turn you away the moment she sees all that blood in your hands?"

"...I make no illusions of being a saint," Genesis finally commented after a minute of silence; "could a person truly call themselves such a lofty title when they killed their own parents? Banora village was a lie, but there were good, happy memories here. Many I shared with my parents and Angeal."

Slowly Genesis finally turned to him, "And I shattered all of it by forcing the truth out into the open."

Zack took a long look at Genesis's face. No facade or bravado of arrogance came from the rogue SOLDIER. Only deep pain, regret, remorse. "Angeal and Sephiroth... Because of my actions, they spiraled into the same madness that consumed me," the man let out a bitter chuckle; "it would be easy to blame all that I have done one my degeneration, but that be a lie."

"Then why continue?" He couldn't understand, he just couldn't...

"Because Zack" Step by step, Genesis walked closer. "I. Have. Nothing. Else"

The younger SOLDIER gasped softly.

"My past was a lie. My work in SOLDIER was a lie. My existence, my very nature, all of it was a lie. Just... one sick experiment" His voice was filled with cold hate, and self-loathing. "All I've done up until this point was to finally get the answers I wanted, to find a purpose for my existence"

He was lost, he had nowhere to go, no one that could possibly understand him anymore. Genesis was alone.

"Everything I've been through, everything I've done must have meant something!" He seethed through clenched teeth.

Zack now saw clearly. He was desperately seeking for the lie that his life had been to have meaning. And answer that could give justification to the pain he was feeling, the sheer despair he had fallen into, something to make him believe his life wasn't empty. That he was more than just a lab experiment.

"And maybe then," Genesis spoke quietly; "just maybe I can find a small measure of redemption." He points his rapier towards Zack; "Find my real purpose, and penance."

A red glow covered Genesis as the massive summoning materia began to resonate; "What are you doing?" Zack yelled as the glow brightened over the rogue SOLDIER.

"Seeing this final act to its climax!" Soon Genesis roared and enveloped but red light with the summoning materia vanishing.

Genesis screamed, the sheer amount of energy... it was just so vast, so overwhelming. Like trying to fill a mere cup with a turbulent river. The mako in his being reacted to it, violently.

And so he began to change.

Zack gasped as the light waned to reveal the form of the former SOLDIER. The sheer amount of mako had changed him into a monster. He was now several feet taller, a giant covered in a sort of metallic carapace akin to armor, blade-shape edges sprouting from his legs, which here buried or attached to the ground. He looked like a twisted monstrous version of a knight as he held his now larger crimson blade.

This transformation... the result of mako going wild inside his body, just like he's seen in those experiments. It mutated him, just like his SOLDIER cells had mutated others.

In that moment of horror, Zack could only ask; "What did they do to us...?" The implications of what had been done to him to become a SOLDIER had never been more terrifying.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Zack's body felt like it was on fire as sweat dripped from his face. The armor monster visage of Genesis glowed and the rogue SOLDIER returned to his human form. Going down to one knee his rapier planted into the ground keeps him from falling fully on his face.

His body felt weak, passed the point of exhaustion, yet Genesis kept his steely gaze at his late friend's former apprentice. "You surpassed Angeal," the red haired man spoke breathlessly; "He'd be proud."

Genesis coughed into his hand, drawing it back he saw his glove stained with blood.

 _'This is it...'_ He thought _. 'My body has reached its limited; the degradation of my cells is at its zenith...'_ The sheer mako he took into his body had not helped either.

There was no despair in his thoughts, no sadness nor anger. Just... acceptance. There was nothing more he could do about it, he was going to die.

Strange... knowing that had sent him into a crazed frenzy, desperately looking for a way to stop it. But now he stood at death's door and he felt relieved. It was so odd he couldn't help but let out a soft breath of a laugh.

He had failed with all his objectives, but looking at the determined brave SOLDIER before him, he felt no shame in his defeat. He could die content knowing that the man before him was a greater, more honorable warrior than Genesis himself had been, than any of them, Sephiroth and Angeal, had been.

He only regretted that he never saw the end of Loveless's prophetic poem... if there was any prophecy in the first place. He most like had just imagined things in order to give himself some manner of hope.

Oh well...

At least he would die in a sacred place.

He gazed back at the statue of the goddess... and then he was suddenly standing among a field of stars.

Colors, more colors than he ever thought existed, swarmed in a gentle stream all around him. They felt... alive, each tendril of such pure energy, carrying with them an echo of what was and what would be.

He followed the trail... and felt his eyes water at the most beautiful sight he had ever set his eyes on.

A woman dressed in white and blue two piece formal attire with a respectable neckline and bellowing skirt. Long flowing blond hair, fair skin that was utterly flawless, an hourglass figure that was divinely perfect, and finally with a blue gold and silver circlet that adorns her head. Her eyes a shade of blue that he had no words to describe them.

Her blue eyes gazed upon him as approach; "You are real…" he extended both his hands to her.

She spoke not a single word to the rogue SOLDIER as he stopped a foot from her. No words were said between either as the tendrils of energy soon entered and engulfed Genesis.

Zack gasped as a green light had enveloped his fellow SOLDIER but soon faded as Genesis collapsed onto the ground.

The wielder of the Buster Sword could not believe his eyes. Genesis's hair, previously a ghostly white as it had turned during battle had returned to its former vibrant red. His skin which had degraded due to his decaying cells now had a healthy tone befitting a man of his age once more.

Any wounds he had acquired during the battle were gone... And so were his now that he realized.

Zack walked over his form, looking at him solemnly. "Did you see her?" He softly asked. "Did your goddess show you compassion?"

Genesis did not reply, he couldn't, as his consciousness had yet to return to him.

The SOLDIER gently held him in his arms, and carried him away from the cave.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Sitting around the flowers behind the cottage Naruto, in a simple shirt and jeans idly gazed at a photo in his hand. Going through one of his scrolls he found it, the blond did not even realize he had put them in there.

"There you are," Aerith's soft voice making the former Anbu turn to look at her, seeing her wear on of her white dresses; "What are you doing out here?"

Naruto faintly smiled as he turned back; "just looking at something. I didn't even think I put them in one of my scrolls."

Coming to her friend's side she sits on her knees beside him. Her emerald orbs gaze at a picture of a sixteen year old Naruto hugging a sixteen year old teen girl from behind with short rosette hair and jade green eyes.

"There were days I felt like I was dreaming, but it was during the Chunin exams and after the invasion from Oto and Suna things changed," the blond's voice being distant, lost in memories as he looked at the picture.

Aerith remembered the story, a surprise attack from two ninja villages lead by a man in her opinion even more scary than Hojo. And during that invasion Naruto lost a person he loved like his own grandfather.

XxX ~ nine years ago ~ XxX

 _Walking through Konoha's cemetery Jiraiya remained quiet as he finally saw who he had been looking for throughout the village. Standing in front of the grave of Sandaime Hokage, a thirteen year old Naruto stared at the tombstone._

" _I was pathetic," the blond said quietly._

" _How so," the toad sage asked seriously; "can most people say they stopped a Bijuu from destroying their village? You saved a lot of lives, hell you saved Konoha. You should be proud."_

 _Clinching his fists, the blond narrowed his eyes; "I am, but I feel only got by the skin of my teeth. And not just the invasion, but during the Chunin exams too. Jiji always told me to really take training more seriously. But I never listened to him most of the time."_

 _Crossing his arms Jiraiya tilted his head; "what you getting at gaki?"_

 _Naruto sharply turned given the older man a strong steely gaze he remembered a certain redhead to have; "can you train me, not jutsu. Well more than that, can you make me into a real shinobi?" The blond's gaze softened as he looked to the ground; "I owe Jiji that much…"_

 _Quiet for moment, Jiraiya grunted; "you got it kid."_

XxX ~ now ~ XxX

"Things changed after that," Naruto said quietly before chuckling; "not sure how or what it was. But things just became different. Sakura and I started to hang out more little by little"

Aerith gazed between her friend and the picture; "Sometimes it can take something small to make something great."

"…When Sasuke fled Konoha to join Orochimaru I had thought Sakura would beg me to bring him back. Instead she made me promise to come back alive." The blond lightly chuckled; "the mission failed and I ended up in the hospital bandaged from head to toe. Sakura came every day to see me. Mostly to make sure I didn't try to escape," the brunette giggled. "And then one morning she had a sit down with me."

XxX ~ nine years ago ~ XxX

 _Sitting in his hospital bed, the bandaged Uzumaki looked wide eyed at the rosette sitting at the foot of his bed. "Wha-"_

" _I never apologized for how mean I was during our academy days. And when our team got formed, hell I never thanked you for saving me when Gaara was crushing me to death during the invasion."_

 _Naruto only waved a hand dismissively; "It's alright, I mean when you think about it I was acting like an idiot. And I was just glad you were alright."_

 _The rosette gave him a stern gaze; "that doesn't excuse my behavior, hitting you for the simplest things. I was a total witch."_

 _Again the he waved it over; "Really I had it coming. You kept me in check more than anything."_

 _Sakura only stared at him; this boy was really the most forgiving person she had ever met. "O-one other thing," she lightly stuttered having a faint blush to her cheeks; "Seeing as you constantly pestered me for a date, I decided to reward you for all you've done. S-So take me somewhere nice"_

 _The blond Uzumaki's cheeks almost turned bright red._

XxX ~ now ~ XxX

He had moved on, Aerith could see that. The wound of losing Sakura had long healed, but the scar was deep in both his heart and soul. Without a single word one of her dainty hands slipped into his free one. Fingers interlocking as both simply found solaces in the other's company.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

After thanking the man for giving him and his friend a lift, Zack carried his spiky haired comrade through the rigid cliffs around the city of Midgar. "Didn't think it'd take us two months from Mideel to get back here. Then again didn't count on our ride breaking down either."

He grinned as he stood at the edge of a cliff looking over to the massive metropolis. "Bet Aerith will punch me when she sees me after being gone this long. Then we can start doing work as mercs earning some honest Gil." Or something, he really needed to plan ahead more.

Zack's senses didn't miss the approaching danger coming their way. Without a single word he placed his friend in a well-hidden place under some boulders; "Have to go to work." He smiled, promising he'd be back.

Turning his back he did not see a gloved hand slowly rising up to him.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Humming a small tune, Aerith in her pink dress and coat tended to the flowers in the church with Naruto beside her. "If I could found some seeds I'd put some roses or other types of flowers to grow here," the former Anbu muttered.

The brunette giggled before both heard the sound of thunder. Shifting around, they could see storm clouds through the holes of church's roof. Soon rain poured through down, the blond Uzumaki shrugged it off till noticing Aerith.

Her emerald orbs were wide as she soon stood up and walked a few feet away. "Aerith?" she did not answer Naruto as she clasped her hands and closed her eyes. Standing up, he quickly came over as she let out a sharp gasp and looked upwards.

"Zack…" her voice soft as the tall blond froze seeing light tears in his friend's emeralds.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The rain hadn't let up as Cissnei found where the platoon of Shinra soldiers had gone near the outskirts of Midgar. But honestly she had not even notice it. She had not known how long she stood there; the Shinra soldiers were already long gone before she came.

She had not known how long she stood there as she was soaked from head to toe as she stared down at the bullet ridden body lying motionless at her feet. Her body was numb; her mind was numb as she simply kept staring at Zack's lifeless body. Only the lightning that flared showed her tears that ran down her cheeks.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

 _ **That's a wrap.**_

 _ **Runa is based off Bazett from Type-Moon**_


	6. The mission

Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto or Final Fantasy VII

Co-Author and Beta: Etheral-23

The Mission

The Turks' offices were not really a fashionable place, that was reserved for their oh so dear leader and his unnecessarily large office. Stainless steel walls, couches and chairs in the reception area, some plants here on there with some paintings to make it a bit more pleasant. Their reception/lounge wasn't the epitome of comfort but it was a nice enough place for the agents of Shinra to relax.

And they had a coffee machine, so that was a plus. Said machine was a popular spot for the Turks, seriously most of them pretty much ran on the stuff considering the company's strong policy on 'no drinking on the job'.

The entirety of their members was currently gathered, save for Tseng, waiting to give a... 'Warm welcome' to the new addition to their ranks.

"So..." Alvis started as he ran a hand over his unkempt auburn hair. "Any thoughts on this?"

"The president is tired of our bullshit lack of progress" Judet drawled as she leant back on a wall, a lit cigarette in between her fingers.

"I'll tell you what's bullshit" Elena replied, uncaring that her older sister heard her swore. "That they think we're not 'good enough'. The Turks took down mean things that nearly destroyed the world"

A young man with curly blonde hair, for once without his distinctive nunchakus, gave her an apologetic look. "Ah, no offense Elena" Christoph smiled. "But you weren't there. Circumstances were different"

"Like what?"

"Hmph" A woman with short black hair played with a knife as she sat on a chair. "For starters, we had access to a ton of materia back then" Jenna, as always, was quick to the point.

"Oh you should have seen us, kiddo" Noir the 'Legend' leant back on the couch, placing both arms behind it, blowing out a puff of smoke from his cigar as he did so. "All that power pumping through you, we were a fucking force of nature"

Ruluf deadpanned. "Annnd spent a lot of time under treatment because of that, unlike members of SOLDIER, we mere mortals can't handle all that stuff pumping through our bodies..."

Reno shivered beside Rude who both sat on the couch; "Can't recall how many times I threw up from those treatments they gave us." His silent partner in crime adjusted his tie.

Muar also lit a cigarette beside Judet; "And lets be frank, that blondie with the ancient has been making total asses out of us. Anyone here who hasn't been pranked by him please raise their hand," Elena lifted her hand; "that's because you just joined us hun."

A short raven haired man wearing glasses and a scar on his cheek sips his cup of coffee; "She could give us an edge against this guy."

Emma works on one of her guns beside a long light blond woman who had her hair in a high ponytail; "Balto, do you remember the few missions we had with her against the old AVALANCHE?"

"I remember she doesn't mess around," Christoph winced at an old memory of the woman beating a group of those Eco-terrorists like they were rag-dolls.

"I thought she was awesome!" The ever cheerful Freyra exclaimed from her spot at the chair between Emma, Jenna, and Christoph. "She was like 'woosh', 'bam'!" She through a couple of punches in the air, forcing her comrades to lean back to avoid being hit. "And those rune spells things she did! Ohhh that was so cool!" If life was run by cartoon logic, she would have stars shining in her eyes. "Oh you think she'll give me an autograph? Maybe a selfie too..."

Avis rolled his eyes. "What, are you member of her fan club or something?"

"Well, duh!" She unashamedly exclaimed.

All eyes turned on her. "Seriously?" Emma droned.

Freyra puffed her cheeks in annoyance. "I can have hobbies"

Noir took a drag from his cigar. "So long as they are not stalkery..."

The lounge doors chimed as the Turks soon see the subject of their discussion entering with a not at all happy look on her face, donning her Turks outfit with Tseng walking beside her. One would have to be thick to not feel the angry aura around the SOLDIER turned Turk who adjusted her tie.

"Nice to see ya again, gorgeous." It took everyone's willpower not to facepalm at Reno's lazy nonchalant greeting.

Tseng only rubs his eyes, holding off a sigh while Runa slowly turned to the redheaded Turk. Oh yes, count on Reno to not get the hint and be an ass 24/7.

"Reno" Her voice was dripping with disgust. "It is NOT a pleasure to see you again"

The redhead scowled but did not reply.

"Elena, meet Runa" Judet introduced their newbie to the... other newbie. "Saved our asses plenty of times"

"And now I'm assigned to permanently babysit you" Red glowing eyes showed nothing but apathy at the prospect. "I am just _thrilled_ to be here..."

"Ohh don't be like that" Noir grinned at her from his seat. "It'll be fun"

The SOLDIER crossed her arms. "The only 'fun' I get out of this is laughing at your ridiculous code-names"

"Hey now, they call me the Legend for a reason"

"A Legend based about how much time you spend with dancers than on the battlefield, I imagine"

Far from offended, the orange haired Turk laughed out loud. "Ain't gonna lie, now that Golden Saucer has some miqo'te ladies I've just been blowing all my money there"

Reno whistled while Avis nodded with a grin. "Ohh I do love some catgirls"

A round of disgusted grunts came from the women in the room, along with the roll of eyes by some of their male comrades.

"At any rate," their boss trying to get them back on track; "Runa shall help us against our 'problem' and retrieve the ancient."

"Unless Reno feels like tongue kissing a guy again," Runa spoke bluntly as the man in question literally turned green remembered being suckered by the blond asshat. Seriously what the hell kind of materia does that guy use to do all that?! They noticed her soon taking a head count; "You're one short. You're second in command?"

Runa noticed a few heads looking downwards with pained expressions. Christoph quietly commented; "Cissnei is on leave for a bit. A friend of hers died."

At that the SOLDIER turned Turk looked to Tseng; "Then let's get to business. This unknown who made clowns out of you lot."

Much to their displeasure, her blunt words were true. "Indeed" Their leader admitted. "You were transferred to take him out"

"Alive or dead?"

"Depends on your mood" Reno rudely cut in. "Honestly, I'd say dead is better"

A glare from his superior and Reno held up his hands in apology. "Higher ups would like to know more about him, so if it is possible get him alive"

The SOLDIER popped the cricks in her neck. "No problem. When do I go hunting?" Her red eyes shined with more than the mako in them, they were alight with determination.

Freyra excitedly muttered under her breath; "So coooool..."

"Until we have info on where he is spotted, we'll inform you" Tseng assured her. "Until then, you'll go on patrol with the others"

"With the clowns?" Runa droned in displeasure.

A few of the Turks rolled their eyes at that. They weren't happy about the situation either. Oh which poor dumbass was gonna get assigned to watch over her-?

"Oh, oh!" Freyra held up her arm and waved it. "I can be her partner!"

...Of course.

"Very well" Tseng conceded, and the Turks couldn't help but feel he was a touch satisfied at lumping the SOLDIER with her enthusiastic fan. "Freyra will part of your patrols, we'll arrange the details later" He turned and began walking to his office. "Feel free to get to know them team, I'll be in my office looking over some papers"

As he disappeared from sight, the Turks turned their gaze to the SOLDIER. "Welcome to the madhouse" Judet droned.

"Lovely" Runa replied with just as much sarcasm.

Well those two were going to get along.

Freyra was suddenly next Runa, showing there was a bit of a height difference between them, the SOLDIER being taller. The shotgun wielder clasped her hands together and looked at her with a hopeful look. "Can I get a picture with you?"

Runa didn't bat an eye. "Well aren't you sweet..."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"Have I mentioned Hedgehog pies are a pain in the ass?"

Upon hearing Naruto's utter displeasure over the little pink imp monsters for what Evie thought was the hundredth time she groaned out; "And that they keep burning your pants too."

Currently the former Anbu and nomadic adventurer were dealing with several monsters gathered in the abandoned unfinished sector 6 slums. After four months the blond Uzumaki could say he trusted Evie to watch his back in a fight and spend time with him and Aerith at the church.

Evelyn was definitely an accomplished fighter who had a gift using ice materia. Combined with her daggers and martial skills, the woman was a freaking hurricane on the battlefield.

"I'd rather fight Flans" Naruto grunted once more as he stared at the last of the little buggers die off. "Those have a delicious name at least..." And once in a while one of those jelly monsters got into the slums.

"Oh now that you mention it you should try Flan stew" An excited look flashed in her blue eyes. "The blue ones are okay; it's the red ones that have that awesome spicy flavor"

"...I said their name sounded yummy, not that I wanted to eat one"

She snorts. "Don't know what you're missing my friend"

"I'll take your word for it" The blonde replied as he dusted off his hands against his pants. He frowned as he stared at the black spots of burnt cloth on them. "Gonna have to save on inflammable pants to deal with these little bastards, killing them is good stress relief at least"

Evelyn peered over his back. "Wouldn't look down on them if I were you, they know how to sneak up on people"

"Please" He said condescendingly. "I'm a trained ninja, nothing sneaks up on-"

A remaining Hedgehog Pie jumped out of the shadows and proceeded to bit Naruto's head, its body limp as it kept a firm grasp on his skull with its strong jaws.

Naruto screamed out as he felt the fangs digging into his scalp. He flailed around trying to reach the little monster but his erratic movement wasn't helping. "Ahhhhhh! Get it off, get it off, and get it off!"

Evie only laughed while finally her friend pulled the pink imp off his head and held it in front of him. And what proceeded was the funniest scene of Naruto and Hedgehog pie in a shouting contest. Seriously that was one strange man, but the sheer entertainment value of being around him made certain you were never bored.

She soon laughed louder as the pink imp set the blond Uzumaki's face on fire which led to him punting the little monster right out of the sector. The adventurer covered her mouth, giggling while being glared at a singed slightly smoking sage. "Enjoying the show?"

The blond rolled his eyes getting a thumb's up for the reply, and patted his hair to clear some of the soot. Just as Naruto was going for some medicinal ointment, Evelyn softly chuckled and approached him. "Here" She placed her hands over his head and face.

A familiar green glow emanated from them, and Naruto felt his scrapped and singed skin healing under her touch. While it eased the uncomfortable sensation of the minor wounds inflicted by that little bugger, it also raised some questions. "Didn't know you could heal?"

"Lots you don't know about me"

The soothing energy in her hands... it was coming from her own body. "You... aren't using materia"

"Just like you don't use any yourself" Evelyn noted with a smile.

Naruto fought hard to keep the surprise off his face.

She chuckled. "Honestly, if you want to keep your abilities secret you shouldn't introduce yourself as a sage"

The shinobi just stared at her. "Okay, I have a bunch of questions right now and I don't know where to begin"

"Ninjas of Wutai call it 'jutsu' and 'chakra'" Her smile was amused as she explained, backing away as soon as she finished her healing. "Others call it 'magic' and 'mana'"

THAT got a reaction out of the ninja. _'D-did she just say the ninja here use jutsu and chakra?'_ Kurama lifted a brow while listening. _'So they can use chakra here!'_

"Granted these days you only see Moogles and Miqo'te use magic. Most humans anymore rely on materia." Evelyn gave a slight tilt of her head to her friend; "but the shinobi of Wutai and sages like you are the exception."

 **"Hmm,"** Kurama rubbed his furry chin; **"now that is interesting."**

 _'But why would people stop using it?'_

 **"Your guess is as good as mine kit,"** the old fox shrugged lazily as his tails swayed. **"Any number of factors could have happened. We do not know much of this world to fully understand it"**

 _'Maybe she can shed some light into it'_ Naruto mused. "How come more people don't know about it?"

"Oh, it wouldn't do for the Shinra company that people know magic is accessible even without materia" She spoke with disgust, clearly having no love for the giant corporation. "Their whole economy would suffer. Look at what happened with Wutai, their independence and reliance to mako energies had them frightened, along with that 'ninja magic' of theirs as they called it" Evelyn snorted. "Only reason Wutai lost was because they were seriously outgunned against the Shinra military"

"I see" Interesting, he filed that away for later just in case. "So Shinra keeps a tight lid on it"

"Exactly. They like to pass any sort of naturally occurring magic as the influence of mako and materia. Those elements can boost people's power, but all but replacing their own mana-"

"Made them too reliant" Naruto nodded in understanding.

"Doesn't help mako powers their electricity. Shinra is in a place of too much power so they are capable of hiding the truth. Only places that may still practice magic are those too remote for Shinra to find. Or don't have enough influence on them"

That made a lot more sense, and he thought Shinra were dicks before. He did not blame the Moogles or those cat folks from keeping away. Better than letting that damn corporation sink their claws in.

"We should get back anyways," the blond muttered.

Evie smiled; "Who's cooking?"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

She would traverse the world, fight against all manner of monsters and dangerous people.

She had fought giant beings whose steps made the earth itself tremble. She had faced the summonings called Aeons, ancient beings of great power who could devastate the landscape with their mere presence. No challenge was too much for her, oh no, she lived for them, relished in it.

The thrill of combat, the test of her skills.

And now, Runa was patrolling the streets...

The SOLDIER let out a frustrated sigh. All those years, all that training and missions and this is what she got as a reward. How the mighty had fallen...

At least her mother tried to cheer her up, saying that to her this whole assignment would be a temporary gig.

"Oh, that place serves the best pasta in the city~!" The cheerful Turk said, pointing excitedly at a cozy little food place on the street.

And then there were these clowns...

Freyra played with her fingers and blushed. "I-If you want we could grab a bit there afterwards? 'W-We' as in, us, the Turks. Not just the two us, although I wouldn't say no to that..."

At the back of their little party, Reno drawled. "Smooth..."

 _'...Least she is more bearable to deal with than Reno,'_ and actually capable than the lazy oaf. She recalled Freyra being a skilled huntress and the best rifle expert in Shinra against AVALANCHE.

Granted it didn't help her or these other bozos in the Turks from the unknown guarding the ancient. And if she was honest to herself she did not get a feel from the vids on this strange man. He did not act like any Shinobi of Wutai that she ever fought before, but the speed, stealth, and strength of one of their elites.

Ugh she was probably overthinking it, for all she knew against a 1st class SOLDIER he'd break like glass. Get this whole nonsense over with and back to her real duties.

 _'Never underestimate anyone.'_

She mentally groaned as she remembered her mother's parting words before leaving on patrol. And the passing wisdom she heard from Angeal time to time before he went rogue. Runa was a lot of things but she never underestimated any of her foes before and now. That said she wasn't holding her breath either.

"This is the usual area where the ancient comes," Rude spoke up as they near the plaza.

"She goes about selling flowers" Reno said as he scratched his neck. "All smiles and sunshine that one"

"Does she have a particular route?" Knowing if she had one would be vital to finding her and the ninja.

"Hmm, not really" Freyra shrugged in return. "She starts through the plaza but doesn't really follow a specific pattern"

"Hmph" Runa looked around for any sight of her. "Any word on her last sighting?"

Rude was quick to answer. "The lower sectors. Could be hours before she appears"

The SOLDIER crossed her arms. "Then we wait" She said with authority.

Reno sighed and placed his hands in his pockets; Rude merely adjusted his glasses and complied.

Freyra just leaned in closer with a wide smile. "So, what kind of guns you like?"

It was gonna be a long wait...

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Standing guard at the train station for Mako Reactor 1, two Shinra officers in uniform and weapons in hand stand lazily keeping watch. "Tell me why we are guarding a place no one would be stupid enough to attack?"

"Because it's our job and we like having paychecks," his partner groaned as he shook his helmet covered head. Seriously he thought it was boring to, but he liked having a house and food to eat. "Look on the bright side? One more hour and we're off work." He deadpanned seeing the lewd grin of his partner's face; "and blowing your Gil at the Honey Bee Inn again."

"You'd change your mind if tried it once, I guarantee you."

His partner was not convince; "Yeah, excuse me if I want an actual meaningful relationship than sleeping with ladies at some brothel every night."

Both soon perk up upon hearing the coming of a train; "...Didn't we already have the scheduled arrival of materials two hours ago?"

Confusion was written on both as the object in question slowed and finally stopped in front of them. Neither really had time in thinking as one was punched hard in the face by a olive skinned man with swept-back brunette hair wearing a red bandana, olive shirt and green three-quarter trousers, brown boots with silver fasteners round the ankle, brown gloves leaped out of the train. His partner was about help till a tanned skinned woman in a blue top with metal armor and brown gloves, and knee-length green shorts round-house kicks him as she too exits the train.

As both Shinra troops hit the pavement hard into dreamland a towering muscular dark-skinned man with dirty brown vest, green pants, metal braces around his waist, and large brown boots. A thick full beard and high-top haircut, his dog tags waved a bit around his neck, a flaming winged skull tattoo on his left bicep and shades over his eyes

The man's presence alone intimated most, but what got most scared was the minigun grafted to his right arm.

Beside him a large bellied man in a yellow shirt, blue shorts with pauldrons on his shoulder and bandana on his head looked up.

Leaping off the top of the train and young spiky blond haired fair skinned man in SOLDIER uniform landed in front of the gun-armed man as his massive buster sword gleamed on his back. His glowing blue orbs remained neutral while his 'boss' grunted; "Our mission starts now, you better keep up," the gun-armed man said in a deep rough voice.

"I was in SOLDIER you know Barret," the blond man said in a calm if not cold tone.

Barret only snarled; "Then haul ass MR. SOLDIER, Tifa's friend or not, I don't trust ya."

It was because he was Tifa's friend that he was helping this lot in the first place. Honestly, it was all the same to him. Shinra, AVALANCHE, their goals didn't mean anything to sword wielder. These people fought for the preservation of the planet, but it was a fool's errand if they thought they'd actually manage to do anything that would seriously harm the corporation.

Blow up a reactor or two? Sure, it was expensive to rebuild them. But Shinra's resources were very, very vast. It'd only be a matter of time before the bear they poked so much would become fed up with their pestering and lash out.

This bunch didn't seem to care about the consequences their actions would bring. But that was their problem; this was their plan, not his.

Though he couldn't say a part of him didn't enjoy making a mess of Shinra's toys just to annoy them. They had it coming, specially after...

...

No, not right now. He told himself. Don't think about it.

He was just here to do a favor for Tifa; he'd get in, set the bomb, and then leave. Nothing else mattered.

Then he could go back his own way and continue his path... whatever path that was.

"Ex-SOLDIER, and it's Cloud," The blond said absently as he walked passed Barret.

The female of the group put a finger to her lips; "we have to be quiet from here on out. If my Intel and what Cloud told us is right, there are at least a dozen guards, never-mind the mechs."

"Ah come on Jessie," the swept-back brunette haired man spoke up; "we can do this. Right Wedge?"

The large bellied man only looked apprehensive but resolute; "Like Biggs said Jessie, we got this."

"Nuff chattin," Barret nearly bellowed; "let's get to this done and blow this fucking reactor straight to hell!"

 _'Not exactly stealthy when you holler like that,'_ Cloud mentally mused but remained quiet as he followed the others.

The unconscious bodies of the guards were hauled by Biggs and Jessie before unceremoniously being thrown into a dumpster. "Annnd up you go~" The woman patted her gloved hands with a smile.

Barret motioned Cloud to come to the front. "SOLDIER Boy, take point, watch out for any guards"

The spiky haired young man merely shrugged in return and moved to the front of the group. He stayed close to a wall as they neared the entrance to the reactor. The whole structure was surrounded by tall metallic walls, but Cloud knew the interior possessed a much complex structure.

He raised a closed fist to signal the others to stop as they reached a corner. His glowing eyes narrowed as he heard footsteps. The second the sight of a gun barrel entered his field of vision his arm lashed out and delivered a swift and strong blow to the soldier's chest, knocking the air out of him and making him stagger back.

With lightning fast movements Cloud moved from the corner and grabbed the guard's gun, easily taking it from his weakened grasp. A blow from the rifle's butt at the head broke the helmet's visor, shattering the lenses and denting the metal. He fell to the ground unconscious.

Cloud quickly inspected the rifle and checked the magazine. He threw the gun over at Biggs, "Here"

The AVALANCHE member briefly fumbled with it in surprise before getting a grip over the weapon. He sighed in relief that he didn't accidentally fired it off. "Warn a guy first, would ya?"

Wedge took a look at the guard, most specifically the broken helmet on his head. "Geez man..."

"The majority of the human patrols are done outside. Due to the dangers of Mako the mechs guards patrol the interior," Cloud spoke quietly. "We can't stay inside that reactor for any longer than necessary."

Biggs gave a thumbs up; "We'll be in and out in a flash." Jessie only rubs her eyes beside him.

Dragging the trooper into a shadowy area they continue their move forward as quietly as possible.

Their first real obstacle was the door leading to the inside of the complex, closed off by a security password. At the side of the gate was a computer panel, Jessie kneeled before it and took out a calculator lack device, pulling out a cable she plugged it over one of the ports and began hacking, the others took point near her.

"Come on..." She whispered before smiling. "There" The door opened. "After you gentlemen"

Cloud kept a firm grasp on his sword as he swiftly entered, eyes peeled open for any guards. The others quickly followed suit. They were treated with the sight of the complex, massive tubes lead up to the central structure, pouring raw mako energy through them.

"Where to?" Barret asked as they marched.

"According to the map of the area" Jessie said as read the data on her device. "Three hundred meters forward, should be a passage that'll lead us down to the core"

"Once we go down the elevator, the mechs will be on patrol," Cloud informed them all.

Barret patted his right arm; "Good thing we're prepared." He only received a blank look from Cloud; "What?"

"So are they, these mechs are highly deadly. Shinra does not mess around when it comes to their reactors. Especially the ones here in Midgar."

"Doesn't matter, these fuckers have screwed up this planet long enough. These Reactors are the first to go," Barret said with resolution. Again he was met by another blank expression; "Don't give that damn look you spiky headed bastard! Just show us the goddamn way!"

Cloud didn't say a word as he leads the others into the reactor main. The decryption of two more doors as Biggs and Wedge remained as guards for their exit. Jessie, Barret, and Cloud took the elevator down.

The pony-tailed brunette felt a bit uncomfortable with the anger radiating off her boss who glares a hole into their Ex-SOLDIER ally. "The planet's dying because of these bastards and their reactors! Doesn't that mean a damn thing to you?!"

"All I care about is getting this job done then I'm gone," Cloud responded as he crossed his arms.

Glaring quietly for a moment Barret soon snorted; "Yeah, after all that worrying you put Tifa through for all those years. You're some fucking friend aren't ya."

Jessie felt a chill in the air as Cloud narrowed his eyes dangerously; "I'm helping you aren't I? And don't you dare bring up Tifa like that."

 _'Yeah Barret pick a fight with the only SOLDIER that is actually helping us,'_ Jessie mentally drawled while praying these two did not kill each other.

Their leader grunted in reply, averting his gaze from the Ex-SOLDIER. "Jessie, got the bomb ready?"

The young woman patted the sack in her back, feeling the device underneath. "This beauty is ready to blow this place to hell, all we need is to do is place it at the right place and prime it" Barret merely nodded in satisfaction, so far the plan was going smoothly.

The elevator stopped and its door opened... to reveal a very poorly lit corridor of rusted metallic pipes and crumbling concrete. Compared to the rest of the facility this place look like a ruin, as if Shinra never even bothered to actually run any kind of maintenance on the place beyond the upper levels.

"Oh... wow. We sure we need to plant this bomb?" Jessie asked as they continued on, looking at the very poor state of this level. "This place looks like it's gonna fall down on its own eventually..."

"Well we ain't waiting for Father Time to do its work" Barret said gruffly.

Keeping their movements quiet as humanly possible, the trio make their way for the core. Upon getting close to a metal railing which after looking over they could see the sheer massive size of the place. Cloud's gaze was downward gave a light click of his tongue making Barret and Jessie look his way as he points to the floor below.

"See those," the spiky haired blond eyeing a fairy tall humanoid being in some blue uniform with metal arms with claws and a robotic head; "Grunts usually accompanied with Sweepers," the former SOLDIER whispered.

"Da fuck's a Sweeper?" Barret asked in a harsh whisper eyeing the Grunts below.

"Walker mech with guns for arms. Two to three times bigger than a person" Cloud explained. "Very basic and crude machinery, dumb AI, but still troublesome and shouldn't be taken lightly"

"And those guys?" Jessie pointed at the Grunts. The way they moved with their oddly proportions was disturbing.

"Fast, but lack firepower, that's why Grunts and Sweepers are placed together"

Barret pointed the barrel of his machine gun at the robots bellow.

"No" Cloud stopped him by placing a hand over the larger man's gun. "The gunfire will alert others, we should avoid them if we can"

The gun-armed man only growled but complied as they turned a corner to be confronted face to face with what looked like the front half of car complete with its grills on legs with two large gun arms pointed right at them. Jessie only saw a blue flash before noticing Cloud holding his buster sword.

When did he-

Barret only lowered his shades as the large mech fall on the left and right being cut cleaning in half. "Goddamn..."

The ex-SOLDIER said nothing as he place his sword on his back which stayed in place from the magnetic disk. Moving ahead, the AVALANCHE members follow him to a steel ladder which was for emergencies. Both agreed with the blond that taking the stairs be dangerous given the Grunts and Sweepers at the bottom. All three easily slide down and use any and all means as cover as they near for the core.

As Jessie sighed in relief as the slide door closed behind her. They gazed at the massive pipes and ladders they need to use to reach the core below. "Shouldn't be any guards here," she muttered beside Cloud.

Barret said nothing as he glared hard at the core of the Mako reactor. Without a word he and Cloud started their way down with Jessie following.

"We should be quick about it" Cloud advised "Short exposure to Mako energies isn't harmful, but we're walking into the central power lines" Indeed, he could feel the energy in the air, the very same energy that dwelled inside his body. "There are higher concentrations here. It's better if we- well, you play it safe and don't stick around for long"

Barret huffed in reply. "Duly noted" He turned to Jessie and held up his hand to her. "Give the bomb, you take point here" He'd rather not put the others near the core if he could help it.

"You sure about it boss?" She said in concern.

"Don't worry about it, I can prime it. You stay here; it's safer than in the core"

She let out a short laugh and handed the bag to him. "What, you suddenly immune to mako now?"

The dark skinned man gave her a smirk. "Trust me, a bit of mako ain't gonna hurt me"

The young woman lightly snorted as she shook her head watching the two going down to the core. Absently her mind strayed to the people on the upper plate, more of those living in sector 1 and 8. But she quickly shook it off, _'for the sake of this planet we have to do this._ ' They came this far, considering every other actions they have done, what's was a little more blood on their hands.

Stepping off the ladder, both men stride their way over to the large metal cylinder where all the power lines connected to. Where they came to a stop they saw a basketball-sized valve wheel.

Barret extended his good arm holding the bag to Cloud; "Set the bomb."

"Wouldn't that be your job? Your group's idea after all," The blond said blankly.

"Oh shup up and set the goddamn bomb!"

Rolling his eyes, the former SOLDIER grabbed the bag. As he stepped for forward for the core he pause as quick pain passed through his head.

 _'Be careful! There is more here than you know!'_

Who-

"Yo Cloud!" The said spiky haired blond rubbed his eyes as he looked back to Barret; "What's wrong?"

Rubbing his eyes and with a light shake of his head, the former SOLDIER waved it off which only made the AVALANCHE leader grunt. Pulling out the fairly decent size explosive and setting it onto the valve wheel. As Cloud set the timer Barret gave a nod; "Will have plenty of time to get out of here and watch this place-"

Alarms soon ring out in their ears and echo throughout the core room, both sharply turn seeing a giant object walking down the one of the walls. Its sharp six pointed legs keeping it from falling before it leapt off and lands hard in front of Cloud and Barret.

Protected by red plating, the mech rose slowly on six multi-jointed legs. Above the base was a smooth plated upper body with two large arms, at the end of the mechanic limbs were three metallic claws underneath two large gun barrels. The tail consisted of multiple joints, with the 'stinger' being composed of three sharp blades.

The lenses on its head gazed at the human, shining brightly as it scanned them. "NON-PERSONAL DETECTED. YOU ARE TRESPASSING INTO A RESTRICTED AREA. SURRENDER OR YOU SHALL BE EXECUTED ON THE SPOT" The machine commanded on an emotionless synthesized voice.

While Barret stared with caution and shock at the great mech, Cloud merely tilted his head and sized up the machine in front of them. "Huh, didn't know Shinra kept Guard Scorpions at the reactors in Midgar"

The large man harshly whispered to him. "How could you not know?!"

The lenses on its head flared red. "TIME'S UP. PREPARE TO BE TERMINATED"

The barrels on its arms glowed.

"Shit!" Both men swore and jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding twin blasts that exploded right in between them. Barret stood up and aimed his machine gun at them mech's head, he roared as he opened fire, the weapon spinning rapidly as it unleashed a barrage of pure lead. The bullets dented the plates but otherwise did not manage to do much harm to it.

Cloud took out his sword and dashed at superhuman, slashing at one of the legs. The great sword tore through the metal and circuitry, causing sparks to fly out. But the limb was still functional as it turned around, following the blonde. The mech determined Cloud to be the greater threat, and so unleashed a barrage of fire at him. The former SOLDIER deftly avoided the blasts with bursts of speed, flipping over the air as he did so.

However much to the leader of AVALANCHE's dismay he was not forgotten as the guard scorpion's tail attempted to strike at him as the big man narrowly avoided its triple bladed stinger. "That tail also fires out a laser," Cloud swerved to and fro from the hail of bullets aimed at him.

"OH THAT IS BULLSHIT!" Barret roared as he soon saw a green gleam in the middle of the stringer's blades. "Fuck me!" the large man bellowed leaping forward or would have been turned to ash by the stinger's laser.

"Fire at the tail's base," Cloud instructed as he flipped backwards; "that's the weak point."

The metallic handed man took aim at area Cloud pointed out. Bullets weren't going to cut it, so Barret decided to go for his hidden ace. From the center of his circular barrel of his minigun emerged another, thicker barrel. This one looked more advanced than his machine gun, aligned with red lines of circuitry.

The barrel's end shined, much like the mech's had done before, as he took aim at the tail's base. "Hope you like this" He grunted through his teeth and fired.

A red laser beam was fired, the hot energy impacted directly at the unprotected joints, burning and melting the metal with a blast. The tail flickered erratically before falling limp to the ground.

"Got'cha!" Barret cheered in victory.

His smile was obliterated when one of the arms aimed its gun at him.

The light coming out would have torn him to shreds, if not for the swift intervention of the swordsman who sliced the arm in half in a burst of blurring speed.

Cloud gave Barret a slightly smug look. "You're welcome"

The guard scorpion turned awkwardly as it damaged areas buzzed wildly, glancing back to the explosives, cloud gripped his buster sword tightly as he dashed forward. _'We can't waste time here. We have to end this now,'_ with one foot the former SOLDIER ascended high above the Guard Scorpion as it only remaining arm fired at both him and Barret who dodged and fired back.

With his weapon over his head, the spiky haired blond lets his strength and gravity take over as he brought down his killer blow. The AVALANCHE leader cheered seeing the great mech being sliced in half with the both sides falling off the walkway and into the exposed Mako.

Landing expertly as he sheathed his blade, both he and Barret look back to the explosives. "HAUL YOUR SKINNY BLOND ASS!"

Both mad dashed across the walkway as the alarms kept blaring throughout the core.

Jessie's eyes darted from one place to another as the alarm's horn blared loudly, red light flashed in intervals. She bit her lip in anxiety; she had heard the blasts and sounds of fighting, even from here. Her companions were facing something big, so she feared the worse.

The sound of footsteps running over the metallic railings alerted her, turning around she sighed in relief as she saw Cloud and Barret running towards her. "Done! We gotta get out of here!"

No problem with her. Jessie joined them and quickly they took the elevator in order to regroup with the others and escape.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Neither really heard the explosion but what Naruto and Aerith saw while the flower girl did her rounds of selling her namesake on the upper plate was a blinding flash of light and the ground shook beneath them so viciously they were slammed hard to the ground along with everyone else in sector 1 as the reactor exploded.

The former Anbu's senses kicked in as he covered his close friend, shielding her from several pieces of shrapnel and chunks of cement from buildings struck from the reactor debris. Naruto hissed as some flying metal scratched his arm and back.

As dust, debris, and fire covered sector 1 and likely sector 8, panic set in for the citizens ran wildly throughout the area. Both Aerith and Naruto's ears ringed as they help each other back to their feet. Dust covered their clothes and bodies as they could see the masses running away in terror. When the ringing died down, screams nearly deafened them as their slowly turned to see the Mako 1 reactor in flames. Literally blown in half if the amount of metal that crashed into the sector was anymore proving that they needed.

"You are a fucking kidding me," Naruto said breathlessly as he looked wide eyed at the devastation before him.

Aerith only covered her mouth as she fought the tears seeing the lifeless bodies close to them and on the street. Cars crushed in by large chunks of metal or broken buildings. "Why?" her voice nearly a broken whisper.

"Get back" Naruto told her as he helped her get to her feet, she didn't need to see more of this tragedy. "I'll see if anyone needs help, you stay here. Okay?" He said as gently as possible.

Still shaken and tears in her eyes, Aerith could only stiffly nod in reply.

"I'll be back soon" With that, he turned and quickly sprinted farther into the district, soon he disappeared from Aerith's view.

The flower girl had to find the closest surface she could so she could lean in it. She tried to calm her racing heart but the task was nigh impossible. The sheer shock of the event was fresh; the sight of people hurting remained with her even as she closed her eyes and buried her face in her palms.

Aerith breathed in and out slowly, trying to calm herself. She slowly shifted her hands from her face over her chest, where she felt the loud drumming of her heartbeat.

Her hands could not stop shaking, all those people, their lives extinguished in a second. She rubbed the few tears away from her eyes, even where she was the brunette heard several people shout out.

"AVALANCHE," the young ancient slowly shook her head; "this is not the way..."

Not really paying attention to her surroundings, a streak of blond got her attention; "Naruto?" Shaking her head, the figure in question turned as the young spiky blond haired man gave her a blank look as her eyes finally truly focused on him; "Oh, I'm sorry. Thought you were someone else."

The man gave an understanding nod as he ran off. Aerith's emerald orbs lingered on the man before rubbing them as she took a deep breath.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

 _'WHAT THE FUCK!?'_ Reno's voice blared through Runa's earpiece as she only gave a piercing glare at the now destroyed Mako reactor 1. _'What the hell happened?!'_

Standing beside the former lady SOLDIER Freyra only gaped at the devastation wrought by the reactor's explosion; "Sector 1 and 8..."

Runa clinched her fists; "Think we can take a guess on this."

 _'AVALANCHE,'_ Rude remaining remarkably calm as ever; _'we should assist the people and send a report to HQ.'_

"Has anyone seen our target?"

 _'Negative'_

"Understood" The SOLDIER nodded. Turning to the others she said; "Let's go" They broke into a sprint towards the affected area. Their new objective was clear, help the civilians. For the moment their priorities had changed.

They navigated through the sea of people easily; crowds stared in horror at the smoke coming from the great reactor while sirens blared through the highways. Firetrucks and other emergency vehicles speeding up towards the danger zone to provide relief effort and conduct rescue and cleanup operations.

The Turks arrived to see various buildings damaged by the blast, with debris littering the street and wounded people moaning for help, a few brave civilians were trying to help them get out from under the rubble as the professional aid arrived. Paramedics and rescue experts began helping in any way they could.

Reno ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Shit..."

"It had to be those terrorists" Freyra said as she quickly moved to the nearest person, checking his wounds. "AVALANCHE is the only group in Midgar that would have done this"

Runa's keen senses heard a muffled coughing, along with a weak plead of help. Her red eyes shifted a building where a car had crashed, bringing down a wall along and a floor above. There she saw a child, dirty and bruised, laying above the rubble with large piece of broken wall above him, keeping him trapped.

In a burst of speed she was suddenly standing on the rubble, kneeling in front of the child and pushing the rubble away with ease. She gently took him in her arms, he seemed vaguely aware of what was happening around him, to the point his eyes barely focused on the woman carrying him. The SOLDIER quickly moved towards the paramedics where she handed the child to them.

"Here" She said to a woman in scrubs who took in the child.

The woman nodded as Runa dashed ahead upon hearing another moan under some rubble.

"Okay push," a man groaned as he with two others plus Rude pushed aside a large chunk of metal that crashed into one of the stores. Gravity soon aided them as the metal crashed loudly onto the sidewalk. Inside the building they saw portions of the inside had caved in and least a dozen people hurt.

None wasted time as they slowly got the injured out to the emergency medics. A woman in near hysterics ran up to the bald Turk screaming about her brother. Running the far side of the store Rude saw most of where the ceiling had fallen, as she explained her brother had pushed her out of the way, the Turk wasted no time removing as much as of the debris as he could.

His expression turned grim after lifting a large section of the broken ceiling and finding only a lifeless figure underneath. He did nothing as the sister ran passed him and to her brother. She wailed as she held her brother's deceased body tightly.

Outside Freyra ran a hand through her hair as one ambulance left with injured and another came for more. How many people were injured, or worse..?

Absently she saw an elderly man, covered in dust sitting on the sidewalk. His eyes blank as he stared at the burning remains of the mako reactor. "So this is AVALANCHE's way of protecting the planet," spoke to no one as he soon looked at a bloody necklace held tightly in his hand.

Grunting, Reno gently puts an injured elderly woman in a stretcher. Rubbing his eyes, he soon sees a familiar shade of blond in the distance he taps his earpiece; "Uh Runa? Think I see our target."

The message went to all the Turks, who immediately became more alert. Runa's crimson eyes narrowed as she quickly walked towards Reno's position, the other Turks of their group quickly gathering as well. The redheaded man was staring intently at something, or rather someone, further down the streets.

They spotted a blonde figure, a man, helping the people affected by the blast.

"That's him?" The SOLDIER asked, she had seen the pictures from the profile, but she needed to make sure.

"That's him" Reno confirmed with more than a bit of grudge in his voice.

Freyra pointed out; "He's a tough one" She looked at Runa with excitement in her eyes. "How do we do this?"

The SOLDIER contemplated in silence for a few seconds with her eyes closed. " _We_ do nothing. _I_ will take care of it"

Reno did a double take at that. "Wait, by yourself?"

"This guy isn't some random fugitive." Rude warned her.

"And I'm no random soldier" She stated as she rolled her neck. "Continue helping the civilians" The red eyed woman ordered as she adjusted her gloves. There was a sharpness in her voice, the target was in her sight, and he wasn't getting away. The commanding tone in her voice was strong enough that the other Turks couldn't help but obey.

She was the elite SOLDIER here after all, if she said she had this then she damn well had it.

"This will be over quickly" And with that, she marched towards the ninja.

The others could only see her go.

Freyra looked at her with both infatuation and admiration. "That was so hot..."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Naruto helped another woman be taken into the ambulance by the paramedics. The vehicle became full and so it rode off towards the nearest hospital. The jinchuuriki sighed as he looked around him, seeing the firefighters and other officers working to get the people safe.

He leaned back against an alleyway wall, pinching his nose. This whole disaster had to be AVALANCHE's fault, nobody else was dumb or ruthless enough to do something like this. _'And no one else has the balls to pull something this fucking bold,'_ Kurama agreed as he only shook his head seeing the carnage through his partner's eyes.

 **"When your actions reflect those you fight against, you're no better than they are,"** the old kitsune said solemnly. Naruto growled as he clinched his fists; **"calm down brat. Return to Aerith and get some rest, you've done enough here as you could."**

The blond was too emotionally numb to argue as he took a long deep breathe; "Elmyra is probably freaking out as it is."

Standing straight, the blond was about to leave till a feminine voice spoke behind him; "Not so fast." Turning sharply his glowing cerulean saw a woman with short red hair in a familiar business suit glaring at him hard. "You're not going anywhere."

As if the day did not suck even more; "I am in no mood today Turk. Go-" Naruto's voice died in his throat as the woman had closed the distance between them in a second and slammed her gloved right fist into Naruto's jaw.

The blonde was sent down flying down the alleyway, he bounced off the ground a few times as he came into contact with it, rolling around as he finally stopped.

His jaw hurt, oh gods he couldn't remember last time he was in this much pain before. Slowly, he rose from the ground, pushing himself up with shaky arms. 'The fuck was that..?'

 **"That woman there just slapped your shit"** Kurama sounded more impressed than surprised.

 _'Oh gee, really? I couldn't tell...'_ Naruto grumbled as he rubbed his tender jawbone. He hadn't met anybody who could get such a solid hit on him with that much power behind him in this world... until now it seemed. A single leap and she cleared the distance between them in the blink of an eye, and one punch from her sent him flying through the air.

Just what the hell was she?

Lifting his gaze, he saw the woman approaching him with a calm walk, adjusting her gloves at she did so. In the darkness of the night her red eyes seemed to glow... in fact, they were glowing a bit.

Was this... a SOLDIER?

 **"Hmm,"** Kurama sounded curious; **"looks like they decided to take you seriously."**

So the president brought out one of those famed SOLDIER folks he kept hearing about. Getting to his vertical base the former Anbu stared at the woman who stopped several feet away. Neither spoke a single word. ' _I can't fight her here_.'

Shifting his feet, Naruto barely avoided the woman's fist as she closed the distance between them again. Quickly he back away with the woman giving pursuit. No way was Naruto going to fight a member of SOLDIER in an area of injured people.

Both moved like blurs through the damaged streets and alleyways.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Naruto knew he had to lead her away. But where? Fighting inside a city was a bad idea for heavy hitters. Well... not the people fighting exactly, but rather for the bystanders. Lots of broken stuff and the potential that someone would be hurt accidentally.

He just needed to-

A blur dashed pass him.

His blue eyes widened as the SOLDIER woman was suddenly in front of him, a completely serious and determined expression on her face as she raised her leg to deliver a sweeping kick.

Naruto fell to his knees, his legs scrapping against the ground as he dodged underneath attack before pushing himself off the ground and continued running.

The suit wearing woman glared with her shining red eyes before continuing on her pursuit.

The shinobi bit back a curse as he jumped over a busy street and once more entering an alleyway. As he passed through another street he managed to spot a warning sign that mentioned a construction area nearby. That's it.

The blonde followed the sign and entered a construction site in its early stages. Large blocks of barren earth, steel beams making up the inner structure of future buildings. Various pieces of machinery and equipment lying about. And not a soul nearby.

Naruto wished he had the time to set up the place with traps, but he could feel his pursuer wasn't far behind. Sure enough, the SOLDIER woman landed after jumping over the large fence keeping the area restricted from the public. She slowly stood up and looked at him with those cold yet fiery red eyes of hers.

She adjusted her gloves once more and rolled her neck.

The sheer level of energy radiating from this woman was...

It's been a long time since there was anyone who could catch up to him. Mostly because he had yet to go all out against anyone in this world who could handle it, part of him sort of thought there wasn't anyone.

" **That's just the ego talking,"** Kurama pointed out.

It had happened before back home. After fighting against Kaguya he went through a period in which he thought the others just weren't strong enough to face big threats at his side. If he was strong enough then there was no reason for the others to risk their life.

Gods he hated that fault of him so much, the flaw in thinking he could handle everything by himself. Way to listen to Itachi, Kakashi, Sakura, and everyone else who had pretty much told him the same thing. He really was a forgetful moron wasn't he?

Naruto didn't consider himself prideful, he had confidence in his abilities, but perhaps standing so far apart from other people when it came to fighting made him underestimate his opponents AND his allies. A fact that was happily reminded by people he met back in the Nations. Princess Maiyuri, Yuma, to name a few. Not to mention how his friends improved in ways he never could once they were allowed to once more keeping up with their training.

He was never sparring with Lee ever again...

And so here was another opponent ready to prove him wrong once again.

The woman tightened her gloves; "My name is Runa, SOLDIER 1st class, formerly," Oh was there a touch of anger in her tone.

"I take it that joining the Turks wasn't your idea of a pleasant career change?"

Now that got him an evil glare; "Thanks to their ineptness in capturing you, the president felt the need a SOLDIER would do the job right."

"Yeah," the blond drawled; "I don't feel like being one Hojo's lab experiments any more than letting you guys having Aerith. Politely tell Mr. President he can fuck himself."

Runa tightened her gloves; "You're coming with me whether you like it or not."

"...Cissnei is way better at verbal threats than you are."

"I don't care for trash talk"

"I bet you say that because you're not good at-WOAH!" He yelp in surprise as closed the distance between them and tried to strike him with a right hook. "See you don't waste time talking!"

The two continued their exchange; the shinobi dodged her savage strike as he countered with his own. Runa's hand to hand style was like a mixed martial-arts brawler style, one with many years of experience if the precision, strength and swiftness of her strikes were anything to go by. It was only thanks to Naruto's own reflexes and ANBU refined martial-arts that he was able to put on a good defense.

He wasn't going to let the SOLDIER get even a solid hit, he had taken a full powered one from her before and it had been nearly devastating, even these swift strikes of hers carried great strength. Runa had power and speed in spades, and she wasn't afraid to use them.

 _'Runa, where are you?!_ ' Reno's voice spoke from her earpiece. _'We lost sight of you and the target! Give us your location!_ '

Runa's head turned to the side as her cheek was struck by Naruto; the SOLDIER softly growled she returned the favor by kneeing him in the stomach, unaware that the earpiece had fallen off.

 _'Runa come in! Can you hear me?! Is your earpiece working?! Say something if it isn't!_ '

Shotgun's voice cut in; ' _If it isn't working how is she gonna say anything? Dumbass..._ '

Naruto grunted as he stepped back to gain some distance, but Runa was unrelenting in her task to bring him down. There wasn't a second's hesitation in her moves. She aimed a roadhouse kick at his head, but Naruto dodged back and kicked at her other leg, causing her to fall to the ground.

Runa softly gasped as she fell; there was no time to get up as the blonde aimed a fist at her face. She rolled back on the dusty ground, avoiding his attacks. When it seemed like Naruto's next punch was going to land, a hand shot up and grabbed his wrist. Red eyes looked at him with a frown as she tightened her grip.

The shinobi cried out as his wrist was dislocated, Runa pulled him towards her and they rolled on the ground. The SOLDIER sent him flying towards a steel beam on one of the structures, where he collided painfully with his back. He quickly regained his senses, fighting the pain to see Runa running at him at full speed.

Her right hand was raised ready to strike, and the glove in her had been glowing with strange blue sigils.

With a grunt, she drives her fist to his chest. It easily tore through and impacted upon the metal, bending the beam out of shape heavily. Blood was sent flying from the hole on his chest... unless it should have if not for the fact it was not a human chest what her fist had pierced, but instead was a wooden log.

Glowing red eyes narrowed as she stared at the piece of wood around her arm. With a flex of her limb she ripped the log to shreds.

"Wutai technique" She muttered to herself. "Substitution... I guess you really are a ninja"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

From inside one of the buildings in constructions Naruto hid, controlling his breathing into soft barely audible gasps. He looked at his dislocated wrist and grimaced, oh how hated this part...

He muffled the sharp growl from his throat as he relocated his wrist. Shaking his hand, he kept alert; _'And I thought mom and Sakura had vice grips for hands.'_

 **"Nice to see someone who's actually a real challenge for you? Tseng and Cissnei notwithstanding, looks like SOLDIER wasn't a lot of hot air."**

Kurama offering his two cents while his partner kept vigil for his enemy. She was more than just brute force since he has not heard her footsteps once.

 _'Okay, let's do a quick recap'_ the blonde thought as he pressed his back against a wall. Peering over the corner to make sure she wasn't nearby. _'She's fast, she's strong, and she has no sense of humor'_

 **"She channeled energies in her fist in that attack. Do you think that was materia?"**

 _'Hmm, maybe'_ Naruto guessed. _'But SOLDIERS are supposedly infused with mako, maybe it's that and she's not really using any materia right now. It's possible the mako awakens their own energy without them knowing'_

Kurama pondered on this. **"If she is infused with raw nature energy then it's no surprise she is your physical match, perhaps even stronger and faster than you at your current form."**

The shinobi grunted as he stealthily relocated to higher area of the construction to have a better vantage point. _'And those symbols things she did must be some kind of spell. Which means she has tricks up sleeve'_

 **"Well, so do you boy"**

Naruto did not even fight off the grin as he vanished into the shadows.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Her steps were silent as Runa's red orbs surveyed everything around her. Shinobi are widely known to use their surrounds to their advantage. But she was not going to let this ninja play her like he's done with the Turks.

A larger bang made her sharply turn as she lifted her leg and roundhouse kicked a metal barrel. The force behind it ripped the barrel in half and the pieces went flying.

A sharp whistle echoed everywhere; "Nice reflexes."

The SOLDIER turned Turk said nothing as lightning began buzzing around her gloves hands; "I'm will not play games with you Shinobi."

"Seriously, I do respect someone who's all business, but how tightly wound are you? When was the last time you got laid?" Oh, he is definitely a grade 'A' smartass, she will give him that.

"My last vacation a couple of weeks ago" She blandly replied as she adjusted her tie; "A nice guy and his pretty girlfriend. Nailed them both"

He... honestly wasn't expecting that answer. "Oh, good for you" He was enough of a pervert to congratulate her.

"I would have enjoyed my vacation more" Her voice felt like the bite of an angry ravenous animal. "Was it not for the fact it was cut short due to some shite making arses out of the Turks. Making the company assign me to a task way beneath my paygrade"

"...Ah" He clicked his tongue a few times awkwardly. "Sorry about that?"

Her faintly glowing eyes narrowed.

"In my defense, it wouldn't have come to that if you guys just left me alone" Naruto spoke up again; "And much more importantly leave Aerith alone and we are square."

"She is the only ancient left on Gaia. She is more valuable than you will ever know. She belongs to Shinra;" She barely dodges several kunai that came for her face. Only a cut to her cheek showed as blood dripped.

"Aerith is a person, not fucking property. And I'll kill Hojo before he could ever touch her," she heard the strong rage in his tone.

She heard the sound of a wire above her. Looking up, Runa saw a steel beam falling from above. She lifted a closed fist, and the beam bent around it the moment it made contact. The SOLDIER only moved to let the beam fall in front of her.

"You're a strong lady" The shinobi's voice commented.

The buzzing sound of blades cutting the air was heard, and Runa sharply turned to her left and saw three large spinning blades coming at her. She turned to the side to avoid the first, the next weapon came in diagonally so she leaned back to avoid it, for the last one she raised her left fist, and the blade shattered into pieces as it touched the glove. The weapon fell to the ground, allowing Runa to see it was a fuuma shuriken.

Hmph, she didn't see any of these weapons on him. He somehow pulled his arsenal from nowhere, just like a ninja.

A barrage of kunai descended upon against her, she responded with a flurry of swift punches and jabs that deflected them with them ease.

Runa was a little disappointed with these traps...

Then she noticed all of them had paper tags on them, and were on fire.

Her red eyes widened. Acting on instinct, she clenched her fist as lightning sparked around it, coming from shining runes, and slammed it against the floor.

At the same time, the tags went off. Two explosions occurred at the same time, a fiery blast of flames, and a burst of pure electric energy. The two forces collided with great force, rocking the area of the structure.

As the smoke settled, Runa rose unharmed, her lightning having shielded her from most of the blast. She stared down at her suit and frowned. She just got this thing...

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

 **"Did you see that?"** The fox asked.

 _'Yep'_ Naruto nodded. _'Those gloves of hers, nothing can break them'_ and she was able to channel some strong energies through them as well apparently, if that bit of the spark show was anything to go on.

 **"But it's the only piece of her gear that seems unbreakable."**

And indeed, Naruto could see it. While her gloves seemed to be on pristine condition, the same could not be said of her outfit. Her suit had tears and cuts made by the weapons she avoided; it was also burnt in some areas due to the explosion. Whatever those symbols that empowered her gloves were, it appeared she did not have them on the rest of her clothes.

 _'And it just had to be lighting to,'_ Naruto mentally groaned.

Kurama only rolled his eyes; **"Time to up the game kit. And since Senjutsu is useless here in Midgar use my power if you need it."**

 _'Not too much though, like hell am I going to attract more attention on us.'_ And no way did he want Shinra even learning anything about Kurama.

Patting down some smoke from her shoulder Runa soon duck a straight fist from the blond which she countered with a leg sweep taking his down. Slamming her fist into his chest she blinked as his puffed into smoke.

Flipping back to her feet she is soon confronted by two more blond ninjas as they attacked her together. She was sure Angeal mentioned one time about some Wutai shinobi that could make copies of themselves.

She blocked and parried their every strike, the one on her left slashed at her with a kunai, tearing down at the side of her suit. Runa quickly grabbed his arm and kicked at his ribs, the clone dispelled in smoke. Before the other clone could strike she dispelled him with a swift uppercut.

Then more clones descended from above. And more and more kept coming.

Runa was attacked from all sides. She channeled lightning through her limbs to enhance her speed and strength. Her punches and kicks were blurs shrouded by arcs of energy as she parried, countered and attacked. For every clone she took out, two more came to take their place.

One of the clones dropped kicked her; she crossed her arms to shield the blow but was thrown back all the same. Another clone slashed at her from behind with a kunai, making a large cut on the back of her suit and drawing blood as it pierced her skin.

She held back a cry of pain, and two swift strikes turned her head from side to side, saliva mixed in with blood from her lips. And kick directly at her abdomen threw her back.

The clones swarmed her, nearly obscuring her figure from view.

Then, a flash of lightning.

The clones closest to her were incinerated, and the others could only stand back and watch stunned.

Runa stood with her head hanging low enough for her hair line to cast a shadow on her eyes. Her whole body shined with blue energy as arcs of lightning danced around her. Her suit, torn and battered, billowed as if caught on a strong breeze. It only tore further with the energy coursing through her body. A gloved hand grabbed a hold of her jacket and shirt, and with a strong pull she ripped them from her body.

Runa raised her gaze, glowing red eyes shining with anger and determination. She now stood wearing a sports bra as the only piece of clothing in her torso, revealing her slim and athletically toned body. The wounds on her figure were slowly closing.

The SOLDIER adjusted her gloves once more. "My turn"

And then she moved.

The wind force from her speed sent objects and steel beams behind her flying like they were nothing. Naruto lightly growled as he watches his clones now being utterly decimated before they could even attack her.

 _'It's like the Raikage's favorite jutsu but amped up to a hundred,'_ this was getting one sided fast. _'I'm not going to have a choice am I?'_

 **"Not if you want to beat that kit,"** Kurama replied straightly. **"I'm your partner and your friend boy. I refuse to let this woman or Shinra take you. Let's show her** _ **our**_ **power."**

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

 _'I am getting bloody sick of this shite. Where's the-_ ' the wind left her lungs as a hard fist slammed into chest. She coughed up blood as she was slammed into a steel beam denting it.

Hitting the ground, she coughed harshly as she looked up. His hair looked wilder while those strange marks on his cheeks now look like dark blades. The blond's hands were claw-like now as his eyes were shadowed by his hair.

"Let's see what you got," his voice was even harsher now.

Getting to her feet, Runa whipped the blood off her lips. Her lightning grew fiercer seeing two glowing blood crimson orbs with slit irises glared right at her.

"Hmph" She was starting to doubt this man was a SOLDIER, there was something strange about him.

Either that... or they had another mutation ordeal on their hands, like it happened with Genesis. If Wutai had made him, then it was likely those features on him, the eyes, the sharper nails, were all the result of genetic defect in the process to create the super soldiers.

Runa was someone who trusted her instincts, and right now her instincts were telling her that the man in front of her wasn't a SOLDIER.

Either way, she had a job to do. The eggheads could figure him out later.

The SOLDIER rolled her neck. "Still not impressed"

With a swipe of her hand, she conjured various runes in the middle of the air. The glowing sigils transformed into pure elemental attacks as they forth as fireballs. Naruto jumped away, narrowly avoiding the explosion that took place.

The woman moved in a blur of energy. She delivered a powerful kick, which Naruto dodged. The kick was strong enough to completely rip a beam in half. Naruto pushed himself from a steel beam, a chakra enhanced punch aimed for her head.

Runa reeled her arm back and struck, the clash of their fists created a shockwave. Then again, and again and again. Their fists blurred as they exchanged a seemingly unending barrage of strikes.

The SOLDIER quickly dodged to the side, she swiftly turned her back to him and delivered a strong elbow strike at his stomach. Making the blond gasp as spit flew from his mouth. She grabbed a hold of his arm and threw him over her shoulder and unto a steel beam.

Her hand quickly formed a single shining straight line in the air. "Isaz!"

The rune exploded in a blast of ice.

Runa glared as she saw her target frozen in place; "Guess you weren't much aft-" A reddish orange hue soon covered the blond. She could see the ice cracking and melting fast as he let out an ear shattering roar which doubled as a shock wave sending her flying hard into cement wall.

Without even time to catch her breath she saw the man charging her with spinning red dark purple orb that came to life in the palm of his hand. Her danger senses screamed loudly as darted to the side in time see the wall she hit utterly annihilated. It was like a high powered drill laced with explosives when she seen the orb connect to cement.

Yeah, don't get hit by the spinning ball of death.

Shaking it off, she and Naruto were once again moving at blinding speeds. The metal skeletal structure of the building in construction quivered and shook from the power sent by shock waves with each exchange growing more and more savage.

Her lightning and whatever the hell that reddish orange fire that covered her opponent's body radiated everywhere around them. Naruto jumped over to the next level of the construction and Runa followed, a blur of blue chasing a red one. They clashed in the air, momentarily creating a flash of purple as their energies made contact. Rapid blows were exchanged each time they met, creating gusts of wind.

When their arms locked in a clash, they saw a smirk in the other's face.

Runa wasn't gonna lie, she was enjoying it.

Naruto hadn't fought someone like her in a long time.

They pushed away from each other and landed in different steel beams, they were nearing the top of the construction. Runa stood one floor above Naruto.

The SOLDIER eyed a standing beam at her side; a lightning enhanced kick severed it and held it over her arm. Runes shined over the material, it bended and twisted, increasing in length as it lost width. It transformed into a large spear like weapon with rugged edges. Lightning danced across its form.

With a grunt and ripple of her arm muscles she tightened her grim, and launched it with all her might with a cry.

Its throw made a shockwave, the sheer pressure tearing apart the building parts on its path.

Had Naruto not dodged, that thing would have pierced his heart. But it was still fast enough to make a deep cut in his arm.

The spear did not stop, it went straight through any steel beams on its path and soon left the construction and impacted nearby on various machinery. The machines exploded as they were consumed in a localized lightning storm, illuminating the area momentarily.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"Holy shit," Reno muttered slowly beside Rude and Shotgun who all expressed shock seeing another explosion mixed with lightning several blocks away from them.

The trio soon dashed where they hoped was their fellow Turk.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Finally Aerith had stop shaking but still saw the people in a fierce panic while emergency responses were assisting the injured. Her head shot up upon hearing another explosion seeing lightning arching wildly in the distance.

A knot had been forming in her stomach with Naruto having been gone for a long time. Now her fear was growing deeper; _'Naruto.'_ She started running.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Naruto did not take his eyes off Runa as he started using hand signs before taking a large deep breathe. Finishing the last sign he roared as stream of fire came forth like a dragon fire straight for his target.

The SOLDIER/Turk used her speed dodging the fire which melted the steel beams like they were butter. She smirked as she kept running seeing he could direct that fire easily as he turned his head. Leaping high to another area of the construction Runa whistled witnessing half the structure collapsing and hitting the ground with such force the very ground quakes for a second.

The blond snorted as he finished his jutsu staring at Runa; _'Breathing fire like a dragon is so damn cool. And it only took how many days for Hein, Jian, and Hui Zhong to help me get it right?'_

 **"It was two weeks you dumb ass. Now focus brat,"** Kurama rolled his eyes.

The SOLDIER moved her hand in arc above her head, casting a curved line of runes in the air. The runes shot in the form of homing energy shots that swiftly soared through the air. Naruto jumped from beam to beam, avoiding them, smartly maneuvering in a way that most of the homing projectiles would crash against a part of the structure in small explosions.

He caught a glimpse of Runa attempting to heal her wounds with another one of her glowing sigils while he was occupied, so he threw a chakra charged kunai at her.

"Agh!" She cried out the weapon bury itself on its shoulder. She glared at the object in question and pulled it out with a grunt. She looked up from her wound in time to see the shinobi clear the distance between them and kick her in the face.

The SOLDIER did not let the fall stop her; she conjured forth another sigil as she aimed her hand at the ninja. Naruto jumped in order to avoid whatever she was gonna fire at him, but unknowingly fell into her trap.

His head hit a large shining rune that formed right above him; the sigil exploded with violent force and launched him directly to the ground. The two finally fell through a piece of broken floor and unto the ground, where they remained immobile a few feet away from each other.

Soon enough, they grunted as their forms stirred, struggling to get up.

Runa looked at him with her fiery red eyes. She licked her bloodied lips spat a glob of mixed saliva and blood. "Didn't think you'd give me this much trouble"

Naruto painfully chuckled as he kneeled, pushing himself up from the ground with his arms. "Wanna know a secret? Haven't even used all of my tricks against you" He said, and it was true.

The SOLDIER mirrored his smile with one of her own. "Well, same here. But I guess we both know we shouldn't go all out while on a city"

Both painfully got to their feet, their breathing was heavy but their smiles never wavered. Lifting his hand Naruto formed a vermilion Rasengan; "You ready?"

Lightning formed around her fist so brightly it glowed like a beacon. "Let's dance," her smile turned as savage as his.

Red and blue charged forward in a blur as both roared their attacks connect.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Aerith panted as she sprinted towards Naruto's location. After that light show there was no doubt in her mind that he was in one of the construction sites on the edges of the sector. She was nowhere near as fast as him but her own mastery of her energy and the training of her shinobi friend had provided for her had allowed her to reach a very fit physical condition, so she was able to cover the distance in a time regular people just couldn't.

She only hoped she arrived in time before anything else hap-

The night sky lit up with the largest explosion of pure concentrated energy she had ever seen in her life.

The ancient could only gawk at the sight.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The Turks had to stop in their tracks as they stared in both a mixture of horror and amazement.

"...Holy fuck" Freyra muttered.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

From her place on a tall vantage point, Evelyn titled her head with a smile. "Well, they sure know how to put on a show"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Naruto gasped as his eyes shot open. His lungs took in as much air as he could as gazed up at the night sky above? That shouldn't be right. His body protested as the blond got to onto his knees and sat up. His eyes now back to cerulean were wide as he found himself in a crater that was once a construction site.

His head turns forward hearing coughing as Runa groaned as she sat up. She was partially covered in soot like he himself was. "Dog's bollocks," she muttered as she froze seeing the devastation both had wrought. "Oh this will be coming out of my bloody pay," she huffed as her eyes looked back to her target.

There was silence between them for several moments before they began chuckling which slowly turned into rousing laughter. It lasted for least a minute as both heard the sound of a helicopter and sirens.

Neither said a word as Naruto vanished in soot and wind.

"Well a draw is better than losing," Runa muttered as lied back down with a groan.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

"Ouch" The jinchuuriki winced.

"Stop squirming" Aerith said as she adjusted the bandages on his torso. They were sitting on his bed back at their house, where she had proceeded to heal him with her magic. "Honestly, the mess you get into sometimes" She shook her head as she sighed.

Elmyra was as the blond predicted in a near panic seeing both in the state they were in as they arrived home. Even more so seeing Naruto had looked like he came from a full scale war. Hence the current situation after both got a shower and their night clothes on.

"Hey, that crazy chick came after me" He defended.

"And instead you choose to fight her rather than make a run for it with a distraction as you usually do with the Turks" The flower girl accused.

"...I was a bit curious about her"

"Well, your 'curiosity' just turned a construction site into a crater and will cost the city millions"

He winced and looked guilty. "Sorry" But in all honestly, that fight had been so exciting; it's been such a long time since he met an opponent of that caliber. "But... I had fun"

Aerith gave him a dry look. "'Fun'?"

"I have not had a decently good fight in years. But when you're fighting someone who's at your level. When your fists connect, that's when you feel a warrior's kinship," Naruto smiled in reverence.

His words were only met with a blank look; "I did not understand a single word you just said."

 **"Have I mentioned to you this girl is not a warrior?"** Kurama retorted dryly. **"Thus she does not think like a one, genius."**

Naruto only gave a dry look to his brunette friend.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

No matter how much Tseng massaged his temples; the headache just wouldn't go away. "You were brought into our ranks to bring a quick end to this and prevent further trouble" He calmly seethed through his teeth. "This is NOT what the president ordered"

Runa leaned back on the couch on his office, her battered body patched up but she didn't look much in pain with how relaxed her posture was. Though that could be due to the needles that previously held healing potion which now laid on the table in front of her, she had injected more than a few of those agents to speed up her recovery. She had a cigarette in her mouth like she had just gotten laid and enjoyed every minute of it.

She puffed out some smoke. "The fat bastard can take it up to me personally if he dares" A few of the Turks gaped at the sheer disrespect direct at the president. Judet, Maur, and Alvis collectively rolled their eyes. Noir let out a snort while Christoph smiled sheepishly. She sounded very confident in her position as the top SOLDIER of the corporation. "The target proved more dangerous than you think, so he's gonna need me to make sure we catch him. And trust me; I'll make sure to bring him in"

Once more she let out some smoke, her red eyes shined with excitement as she grinned. "Besides... I wanna fight him again" He wasn't getting away.

"...So cool" Freyra swooned.


End file.
